Retreats at Carroll

A comprehensive retreat program is offered for each grade level. As students mature, the level of intensity of the retreat experience increases. Below you will find a brief description of each retreat. For more comprehensive retreat information, click on the retreat heading or the link in the left margin to access a more detailed retreat page.  Please contact Mr. Jim Murray, Retreat Coordinator, if you have questions regarding any of these retreats.

Freshman Retreat

This one-day retreat encourages our newest Patriots to make new friends, prepare spiritually for the challenges of being a teenager, and identify the choice before them to live a life of character and faith.

Retreat Highlights

• creative prayer
• praise and worship music
• community-building games and activities
• small group discussion
• quality time for prayer and reflection

Sophomore Retreat

This retreat fosters sophomores' growth as young men and women of integrity and character rooted in a relationship with Christ while fostering a deeper sense of community within their class.  This one-day retreat is held off-campus during the school day.  A team of Carroll faculty and staff, parish youth ministers, and student peer-ministers lead the retreat.

Students are divided by gender for this retreat.  By separating the genders, this retreat model can be more attentive to the fine differences in male and female spirituality.  It also allows for a more frank discussion of gender-specific issues relevant to teenagers.

Retreat Highlights

• creative ritual prayer experience
• healing service or Sacrament of Reconciliation
• community-building games and activities
• discussion, witness talks, panel Q & A and other learning experiences

Junior Retreat

This overnight, off-campus retreat encourages juniors to grow in their relationship with Christ and foster a deeper sense of community within their class through exploring journeys of faith, highs and lows in life and faith, blessings that flow from a relationship with Christ, healing through forgiveness, affirmation, and acceptance.

This retreat takes place at the Bergamo Center in Beavercreek, begins on a Sunday afternoon, and ends on a Monday afternoon.  Carroll's Campus Ministry Team assigns a retreat date to each student, but students can reschedule in the case of special circumstances as determined by the Carroll Campus Ministry Team.

Retreat Highlights

• icebreakers
• devotional prayer experience
• sacrament of Reconciliation
• large group presentations and witness talks
• large and small group discussion
• journaling
• affirmation
• recreation

Senior PATS Retreat

Many alumni fondly remember PATS (Praying and Thinking Spiritually) Retreat as the highlight of their time at Carroll.  Over the course of three days, seniors assess their love of self and love of God and challenge themselves to renew their commitment to actively living their faith and nurturing their relationship with Christ.

Each year, the Campus Ministry Team selects a group of juniors to lead the following year's first PATS Retreat.  After the first retreat of the year, any student who has been on the PATS Retreat is eligible to apply to be a leader on any of the remaining PATS Retreats that year.  Applications are reviewed by teachers who do their very best to pick a team that will serve the needs of the other seniors.  These students are expected to sign a Christian lifestyle agreement, demonstrate leadership skills, lead an active faith life, commit to a period of approximately six weeks of preparation, fulfill their responsibilities to the team and participants as leaders, and comfortably give witness to life as a disciple of Christ.

Seniors attend this three-day, two-night retreat held on Wednesday afternoon through Friday evening.  Four PATS Retreats take place annually at The Retreat House in Maria Stein, Ohio.

Retreat Highlights

• Liturgy of the Hours
• Sacrament of Reconciliation
• large group presentations and witnesses
• large and small group discussion
• journaling
• trust challenge exercise
• affirmation
• icebreakers
• recreation
• closing Eucharist with family members at Carroll's St. John the Evangelist Chapel