Our Retreat Program is central to how we demonstrate all of our core values, most especially faith and love, community, and compassion. Over the course of four years at Central Catholic, students experience a series of retreats designed to bring them closer to God, to one another, and to becoming the best version of themselves.
Retreats are essential to the spiritual and faith development of our students as well as their sense of community and belonging with one another. Along with the Campus Ministry team, dozens of faculty, staff, and student-leaders facilitate retreats. While each retreat is unique, they all share the common goal of inviting students into a faith-filled, supportive, and inclusive space to explore one's identity and to listen and respond to the promptings of God’s spirit in one's life and the life of the community.
Freshmen Retreat:
In their first semester at Central Catholic, all ninth-grade students attend a one-day retreat held at Camp Eagle Fern in Estacada. Led by a combination of adults and upperclassmen, this retreat provides a day of group games, reflective activities, and examination of our Central Catholic Core Values. It is a fun and spirited introduction to four years of Central Catholic retreats. As with Search and all day-long retreats, there is no cost to attend. For the 2024-25 School Year, the Freshman Retreat will happen on Wednesday, October 16.
Sophomore Retreat:
Each winter, tenth grade students continue their faith formation with a second one-day, all-class retreat. This retreat delves deeper into an essential component of our Catholic Christian faith, agape: defined as unconditional, sacrificial love, such as the love God has for us. Sophomores spend the day together sharing about people they know who live with agape, recognizing how God's love is present in their lives, and consider what it would look like to live out our responsibilities with agape, in response to God’s love for us. For the 2024-25 School Year, the Sophomore Retreat will happen on Wednesday, March 12.
Senior Fall Retreat (Required):
Held each September, Senior Fall Retreat is a required, one-day retreat to ground seniors in their faith journey as they begin their final year at Central Catholic. It is a day to build deeper connections and set intentions for the year. For the 2024-25 School Year, the Senior Fall Retreat will happen September 26.
Senior Spring Retreat (Optional):
Held each May, Senior Spring Retreat is an optional, one-night retreat in which soon-to-be-graduates take on a challenge course in small groups, discuss their upcoming transition with the help of adult leaders, and celebrate their God-given gifts and potential. This retreat also offers a final return to Camp Eagle Fern, the site of both Freshmen and Search retreats, as a Central Catholic student. For the 2024-25 School Year, the Sophomore Retreat will happen May 17-18.
Search Retreat:
Central Catholic's Search Retreat is an optional, two-night, student-led retreat open to Junior and Senior students offered three times each year (Fall, Winter, and Spring). While personal takeaways will differ, EVERYONE will bring and take away unique gifts on Search. Through storytelling, small-group sharing, and prayerful reflection, Searchers are called to:
- Know they are uniquely made and unconditionally loved by God
- Appreciate gifts from God in relationships and in self
- Discern God’s desires for their relationships
- Think critically about God’s desires for current and future relationships
- Identify desires, actions, and supports for moving nearer to God’s desires
ALL are welcome, and there is no cost for this retreat. Central Catholic provides all meals and transportation to and from Camp Eagle Fern in Estacada.
For the 2024-25 School Year, Search Retreats will happen December 5-7, February 6-8, and April 10-12.