Calendar of Retreats

The retreat calendar for Saint Benedict Guesthouse & Retreat Center lets you know what retreats are offered. The calendar updates seasonally and the retreats vary from those led by the monks to those led by other entities. There is often room during the week for those who wish to make a private retreat, for  day or for a week. The guesthouse  offers recently updated retreat rooms for overnight guests, a parking-level lobby, meeting rooms, and a commercial kitchen and dining room. Welcome!

Abbey Sponsored & Co-Sponsored Retreats

Women’s Retreat: Modeling Mary in Life and in Prayer
Christin McIntyre, MD, Ph.D.
November 15 – 17, 2024

Modeling Mary in Life and in Prayer
Women’s Retreat

with Christin McIntyre, MD, Ph.D.

November 15 – 17, 2024

As women – daughters, sisters, wives and mothers – we are uniquely designed to observe the needs of others and intercede on their behalf. Yet too often our loving concern only drives us to worry, while we feel powerless to help the ones we love. Learn to model our Blessed Mother, Mary, collecting treasure from all that God permits to happen, and making use of all things in intercessory prayer. Experience “God with us” in Immanuel Moment meditation, drawing peace and strength from the presence of Jesus within, as Mary did. Pray alongside your sisters in Christ, with time spent in small groups to share joys and sorrows and strengthen each other in faith. Come with all your cares and anxieties, and find rest for your souls.

Dr. Christin McIntyre is a Portland native and married mother of five who converted to Catholicism in 1997. She earned a combined MD/PhD degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Kansas Medical Center, and returned to Oregon to complete a residency in Psychiatry at OHSU. She has been in outpatient practice as a psychiatrist in the Portland area since 2003, and continues to see patients in Oregon and Washington by telehealth since relocating to Idaho in 2021. Psychotherapy continues to be a main focus of her practice, and to better serve a growing number of Catholic patients in recent years, she has pursued training in Thomistic psychology as well as with the John Paul II Healing Center.

Cost: $400 Single occupancy
Email retreat@mtangel.edu to register.

Friday
3 – 5 pm Registration
5 pm Orientation to the Divine Office (Abbey church vestibule)
5:15 pm Vespers followed by Eucharistic Adoration
6 pm Dinner
6:45 pm Welcome orientation
7:25 pm Compline
8 pm Immanuel Moment meditation in Engelberg conference room
Saturday
5:20 am Vigils
6:30 am Lauds
7 am Breakfast
8 am Mass
9:15 am Conference
10:30 am Conference
12 pm Noon Prayer
12:15 pm Lunch
1-1:30 pm Conference – Intercessory meditation
1:30 pm Intercessory prayer session (optional)
4 pm Eucharistic Adoration & Confession
5:15 pm Vespers
6 pm Dinner
6:45 pm Social & small group sharing
Sunday
6:35 am Lauds
7:30 am Breakfast
9 am Mass
10:30 am Conference
12 pm Noon Prayer
12:15 pm Lunch & end of retreat

Silent Retreat: Advent Hope
Abbot Peter Eberle, O.S.B.
December 6 – 8, 2024

Abbey Advent Silent Retreat
Advent, Hope, and an Encyclical:
An Advent Retreat Drawn from Pope Benedict’s Encyclical on Hope

with Abbot Peter Eberle, O.S.B.

December 6 – 8, 2024

Advent is the season when we wait for the Lord’s coming. It is the season of hope, a virtue often overlooked in Catholic spirituality. In this retreat, we will draw on Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, “In hope we were saved” (Spe salvi), and reflect on the virtue of hope, especially as it relates to the season of Advent.

Abbot Peter Eberle, O.S.B., has been a monk of Mount Angel Abbey for over 60 years and a priest for over 50 years. He earned a doctorate in moral theology at the Alphonsianum of the Lateran University in Rome in 1976. Abbot Peter taught moral theology at Mount Angel Seminary and served as a formation director and vice rector. Elected abbot of Mount Angel in 1988, he served his community as abbot until 1997. Two years later, he was elected Abbot President of the Swiss-American Benedictine Congregation and served in that role until 2011. Abbot Peter currently serves as Library Dean and director of the Mount Angel Institute.

Cost: $350 Single occupancy; $550 Double occupancy
Email retreat@mtangel.edu to register.

Faith Over Fifty: A Quick Trip Through the Afterlife
Chris Anderson
March 28 – 30, 2025

Faith Over Fifty 2025
A Quick Trip Through the Afterlife

with Chris Anderson
March 28 – 30, 2025

This retreat is a three-day pilgrimage through the afterlife, taking in the most famous sites in Dante’s Divine Comedy: a pilgrimage about love and freedom, about joy, and about a new way of looking at the journey of growing old.

Please bring a notebook, a journal, or a laptop.

Chris Anderson is an emeritus professor of English at Oregon State University, a Catholic deacon, a poet, and the author of a number of books, most recently, Love Calls Us Here, a book of poems.

Cost: $350 single occupancy; $550 double occupancy

Email retreat@mtangel.edu to register.

Friday
3 – 5 pm Registration
5:15 pm Vespers in the Abbey church
6 pm Dinner in guesthouse dining room
7 pm 1st Conference: Dying to Get In
Saturday
6:30 am Lauds
7 am Breakfast
8 am Mass in Abbey church
10 am 2nd Conference: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
12 pm Noon Prayer in the church, followed by lunch
1 pm 3rd Conference: Looking Past Your Own Nose
4 pm Confessions
5:15 pm Vespers
6 pm Dinner
7 pm 4th Conference: The Little Blue Marble
Sunday
6:30 am Lauds
7 am Breakfast
9 am Mass
10 am 5th Conference: Dancing with the Stars
12 pm Noon Prayer, lunch & end of retreat

Women’s Retreat: Childless & Catholic
Pati Kiley
August 8 – 10, 2025

Women’s Retreat
Childless and Catholic

with Pati Kiley
August 8 – 10, 2025

If you are, like me, childless and Catholic, you are or have been asking yourself a lot of “why” questions. Whether you are a newlywed, or approaching menopause, coming to terms with infertility as a Catholic creates a burden on one’s heart that is hard to lift.

Expectations of marrying and having children have been ingrained in us. As Catholics, we come from large families, are related to large families, or are surrounded by large families. My mother and father come from large families, and I am the sixth of seven children, with close friends who have four or more children. So why not me?

If we are not to have children, then what are we supposed to do as a Catholic married couple?

What is God’s will for our lives?

I know you are asking the same questions of yourself, and I’d like to help you begin your journey of discovery of how to be childless and Catholic.

Pati Kiley is a former youth minister who now works full-time for a general contractor and aspires to become a Catholic life coach. From high school throughout college, she participated in Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) weekend retreats in various leadership roles aiding confirmed Catholic youth in exploring their relationship with God and their faith by sharing her own. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Arts Management with a minor in writing.

Throughout her life, Pati has utilized her communication and organizational skills in each industry she has worked in, be it print production, educational materials, and now general contracting. She strives to connect with people whether clients, subcontractors, neighbors, or complete strangers at the grocery store (much to her husband’s chagrin).

The sixth of seven children, with both parents from large families, her husband of 24 years and she are childless. It has been on her heart to share her journey of understanding God’s will in her life as a married Catholic without children with other women who have or are currently struggling with this same question.

Pati strives to deepen her relationship with God through the Mass, prayer, scripture, conversation, and writing. Friends and family are accustomed to receiving texts or calls from her out of the blue to share revelations or questions encountered in everyday life. Pati and her husband live in Keizer, Oregon.

Cost: $350 Single occupancy
Email retreat@mtangel.edu to register

Faith & Writing: A Quick Trip Through the Afterlife - Praying and Writing with Dante
Chris Anderson
August 18 – 20, 2025

Faith and Writing 2025
A Quick Trip Through the Afterlife
Praying and Writing with Dante

with Chris Anderson
August 18 – 20, 2025

In this retreat, author Chris Anderson leads retreatants on a three-day pilgrimage through the afterlife, taking in the most famous sites in Dante’s Divine Comedy while keeping a travel journal along the way. This is a pilgrimage about love and freedom, about joy, and about a new way of praying and writing.

Please bring a notebook, a journal, or a laptop.

Chris Anderson is an emeritus professor of English at Oregon State University, a Catholic deacon, a poet, and the author of a number of books, most recently, Love Calls Us Here, a book of poems.

Cost: $350 single occupancy; $550 double occupancy

Email retreat@mtangel.edu to register.

Monday
3 – 5 pm Registration
5:15 pm Vespers in the Abbey church
6 pm Dinner in guesthouse dining room
7 pm 1st Conference: Dying to Get In
Tuesday
6:30 am Lauds
7 am Breakfast
8 am Mass in Abbey church
10 am 2nd Conference: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
12 pm Noon Prayer in the church, followed by lunch
1 pm 3rd Conference: Looking Past Your Own Nose
4 pm Confessions
5:15 pm Vespers
6 pm Dinner
7 pm 4th Conference: The Little Blue Marble
Wednesday
6:30 am Lauds
7 am Breakfast
8 am Mass
10 am 5th Conference: Dancing with the Stars
12 pm Noon Prayer, lunch & end of retreat

For more information on any retreat, please email us at retreat@mtangel.edu and include your name, address, phone number, proposed dates for your retreat, and any special needs. We will get back to you by email to finalize arrangements and then call you for the $50.00 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit to hold the reservation.  Full payment upon arrival is required and appreciated.

Please note: the price for sponsored retreats is based on current costs for overnight stays, meals, the stipend for presenters, and any handouts. The price for an individual or private retreat includes overnight stay and meals. Because of inflation, the price for any retreat scheduled after January of 2023 is an estimate. We reserve the right to increase our prices as needed. You will be notified with an updated booking document if there is a change of price to your retreat. Thank you for your understanding.

If you are interested in making one of the Abbey Sponsored and Co-Sponsored retreats but find the cost prohibitive, please let us know. There is a limited amount of financial assistance available.

Non-Abbey Sponsored Retreats

Women’s Saints & Souls Retreat
Dina Marie Hale
October 31 - November 3, 2024

Women’s Saints & Souls Retreat
with Dina Marie Hale

October 31-November 3, 2024

Retreat director and founder of Faith Moments, Dina Marie Hale presents spiritual conferences with the theme “following the saints to heaven.” Time is scheduled during the retreat for spiritual direction and the sacrament of reconciliation. 

Confession: sign up for confession, offered on Saturday afternoon.

Spiritual direction: sign up for 30 minute sessions, as time allows.

For more information and to register, contact Dina Marie Hale of Faith Moment at www.dinamarie.org or email dinamariehale@gmail.com.

 

Thursday
2 – 4 pm Spiritual Direction – 30 min sessions
3 – 5 pm Check-in & hospitality in lobby & retreat conference room
5 pm Orientation to the Divine Office (Abbey church vestibule)
5:15 pm Vespers in Abbey church
6 pm Dinner and welcome
7:25 pm Vigils for the Solemnity of All Saints
8:30 pm Faith Moments Welcome – Conference room
Friday
6:35 am Lauds (optional)
7:30 am Breakfast
8:55 am Bells for Mass
Free time for prayer, rest, recreation
11:55 am Bells for Noon Prayer
12:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm Talk #1 – Conference room
Free time for prayer, rest, recreation – unplug from the noise & connect with Our Lord – enjoy the solitude of the Hilltop & Abbey church.
2:30-4:30 pm Spiritual direction, 30 minute sessions
3-5 pm Late check-in, guesthouse lobby
5:15 pm Bells for Vespers
6 pm Dinner
6:45 pm Talk #2 – Conference room
8 pm Bells for Compline
8:45 pm Faith Moments Mixer – Conference room
Saturday
5:20 am Bells for Vigils (optional)
6:30 am Bells for Lauds
7 am Breakfast
7:55 am Bells for Mass
Procession to the Abbey cemetery with the monks following Mass to pray for our deceased loved ones. (Weather permitting.)
9:30 am Talk #3 – Conference room
11:55 am Bells for Noon Prayer
12:15 pm Lunch
Free time to enjoy Hilltop, visit the bookstore & coffeehouse, rest & rejuvenate.
1-3:30 pm Spiritual direction, 30 minute sessions
3:00 pm Talk #4 – Conference room
4-5 pm Reconciliation (individual confession)
Exposition & Benediction in Adoration chapel
5:15 pm Bells for Vespers
6 pm Dinner
Bring religious articles to dinner for a blessing
7:25 pm Bells for Vigils
8:30 pm Social hour – Conference room
Take a group photo
Sunday
6:35 am Bells for Lauds (optional)
7:30 am Breakfast
Check out of room. You may keep luggage in the conference room.
8:55 am Bells for Mass
10:30 am Final talk by Dina Marie – Conference room
11:30 am Take group photo
11:55 am Bells for Noon Prayer (optional)
Departure following Noon Prayer

Oblate Retreats

(Retreats are limited to oblates and those interested in becoming oblates.)

Oblates of Saint Benedict are Christians who have experienced in some way a call to embrace Benedictine spirituality. After a time of prayer and discernment they have desired a more formal, permanent commitment to a monastic community. By making this formal self-giving to Christ in communion with a monastic community, the oblate embraces the time-tested traditions and values of the Benedictine way. Oblates are united to the prayer and good works of the monastery to which they are associated while they continue to live out their Christian vocation in the world.

For more information on becoming on oblate, or if you are in need of financial assistance, please email Ariel Lynch, Associate Director of Oblates.

To register for a retreat, email retreat@mtangel.edu.

(Please note: All weekend retreats begin with Vespers on Friday at 5:15 and end with lunch on Sunday.)

Oblate Weekend Retreat Rates:
$220 Single
$330 Couple
$115 Commuter per person


November 8–10, 2024
Listening with the Ear of Your Heart: Meditations on the Prologue of the Holy Rule
Oblate retreat led by Br. Matthew Sislow, O.S.B.


Oblate Sundays in 2024
January 14, February 11, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, August 11, September 8, November 10, December 8.


Oblate Retreats 2025

February 7–9, 2025
Oblate Saints: St. Henry, St. Frances of Rome, Servant of God Dorothy Day and Nadeem Feroze (d. 2012)
Oblate retreat led by Br. Cyril Drnjevic, O.S.B.


May 23–25, 2025
Fr. Charles Gonzalez, O.S.B.


September 19–21, 2025
Br. Thomas Buttrick, O.S.B.


November 7–9, 2025
Abbot Peter Eberle, O.S.B.