The students were grateful to receive wisdom and advice for growing in health and holiness. “It was really refreshing to hear these talks that were very prayer-focused. All three were focused on personal relationship with God and personal development,” observed Marissa Grimm (’25). “They were so insightful.”
During the retreat, the women spent an hour in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, adoring the Blessed Sacrament. There, Head Chaplain Rev. Robert Marczewski reflected on Pope St. John Paul II’s understanding of women as spiritual mothers and daughters. Then, the women received benediction and venerated a relic of Pope St. John Paul II.
After being spiritually and intellectually nourished in prayer and by the words of the speakers, the retreatants gathered for a more tangible kind of nourishment: dinner in the courtyard of St. Therese Hall. They piled their plates with steak fajitas — the meat freshly grilled by Assistant Dean Dr. Travis Cooper — and gathered around tables to enjoy laughter, conversation, and good company.
The evening ended in a Q&A with four women, all alumnae and all former or current resident assistants: Miss Dufresne, Dr. Kaiser, Maura Collins (’18), and Marge LaFave (CA’23). With prudence and charity, the women answered the questions weighing on students’ minds about prayer, study, friendship, vocation, and more.
By intentionally making time for prayer and learning throughout the day, students found new understanding of their call to live as Catholic women. For many, some of the most precious insights from the retreat were found in conversation and friendship. “My favorite part of the day was conversing with other women in my class and Dr. Kaiser before dinner,” said Sophia Dughi (’27). “I realized there is something so beautiful in sharing in our womanhood, and that God calls us to love Him in a special way as women, because we have this receptivity in common.”