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Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House Celebrates 75th Anniversary
Nearly 75 years ago on January 2, 1948, 22 men gathered on a snowy day for the inaugural retreat at a new Jesuit retreat house named for St. Robert Bellarmine in Barrington, Illinois. However, things didn’t go exactly as planned, as the director Fr. James S. McGinnis, SJ, recounted in his journal:
No retreat ever opened under less auspicious circumstances. The stove was not connected until 6 p.m. which meant that cold buffet supper had to be served . . . The altar was not returned . . . until after 6 p.m. although Fr. Thane brought the Blessed Sacrament for benediction. All the retreatants came in on the very last train. The weather was frightfully cold and the roads were covered with snow drifts.
Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, Illinois
Those 22 men would not be the last retreatants, though. The retreat house has since undergone several major renovations and additions, but visitors still come with the same goals in mind—to spend time in prayer and reflection in a beautiful, sacred space.
Today, Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House offers a wide variety of programming, including silent retreats adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Kairos retreats for teenagers, 12-step retreats for those in recovery, as well as private and directed retreats. The retreat house kicked off the 75th anniversary festivities with a picnic on Saturday, September 17, 2022, the Feast Day of St. Robert Bellarmine, where attendees celebrated Bellarmine’s long legacy of fostering spiritual development.
Midwest Jesuit Daniel Kennedy (left) with fellow diaconate ordinands and Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, SJ (center), at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Toronto
Midwest Jesuits Ordained to the Diaconate
In preparation for their priestly ordination, four Midwest Jesuits in their final year of theology studies have been ordained as transitional deacons, and two more will be ordained later this year. Daniel Kennedy, SJ, currently studying at Regis College in Canada, was ordained as a deacon on May 14, 2022, at the Jesuit parish Our Lady of Lourdes in Toronto.
The Midwest Jesuits currently in theology studies at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry—Nicholas Albin, Andrea Bianchini, and Damian Torres-Botello—were ordained to the diaconate at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola on September 24, 2022. Midwest Jesuits Aaron Pierre and Daniel Dixon—who are completing their theology studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University—will be ordained as deacons at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California, on October 22, 2023.
For these Jesuits, being ordained as transitional deacons represents one of the final steps of their decade-long formation process. Jesuits typically serve in this role for six months to a year prior to being ordained as priests, proclaiming the Gospel and serving as ministers of sacraments.
