Always in the Church, the practice of spiritual retreat exists following the example of Jesus, who we see in the Gospel retreating aside, away from the crowds, to be in greater intimacy with God the Father (cf. Mt 14:23; Lk 9:18). This time of spiritual retreat is very relevant in the life of a priest or a candidate to the priesthood. On this note, the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis (n. 108) citing can. 246 §5, describes annual retreat as “a time of profound reflection in prolonged prayerful encounter with the Lord, in an atmosphere of silence and recollection”. In the light of this importance, our college organises a week retreat course every year for our seminarians. This year’s edition took place from 25 September to 1 October, 2023.
This annual retreat which took place at Castel Romano, a house reserved for spiritual exercises in the zone of Castel Gandolfo, was facilitated by Rev. Prof. Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and an associate professor of Biblical Hermeneutics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. Some highlights of the daily schedule include holy mass, preached meditations, conversation on themes of priestly life, holy rosary, spiritual reading, holy hour, ample free time for personal reflection and spiritual reading, et cetera. From the testimony of our seminarians, the retreat was really a fruitful and enriching one.