The Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos, El Retiro San Iñigo - (650) 917-4000

For 88 years, The Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos has offered women and men space for prayer and reflection, guided by experienced retreat directors.

The Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos welcomes women and men of all faiths who seek accompaniment on their journeys of Christian discipleship. Our Jesuits on staff, partnered with religious and lay people, offer encouragement and direction as they invite each person to find God in his or her experience and live in gratitude and generosity. Located on 38 wooded acres in the serene hills above Los Altos, The Retreat Center is easily accessible from major highways. Its colorful gardens and rustic trails offer prayerful solitude and inspiring vistas over the Santa Clara Valley and San Francisco Bay.

Since the founding in 1925, the Retreat Center, popularly known as "El Retiro San Iñigo," has offered a ministry rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Our programs include an extensive variety of preached weekend retreats (Ignatian and 12-Step), longer summer offerings (the entire Excercises in a 36-day program and a series of three 8-day retreats), other individually-directed retreats, spiritual direction, days of prayer, and training programs in giving the Spiritual Exercises. We open the Retreat Center facilities to many guest groups, including high school and college student and faculty groups; parish groups; and ecumenical and interreligious organizations. We also rent our space to like-minded secular organizations for retreats and off-site meetings.

WHAT IS A RETREAT?

There is no one definition for a retreat. And the same retreat will mean different things for different people.

For everyone, however, it is a time of rest and prayer. A time to grow closer to God.

El Retiro San Iñigo offers a variety of retreats — silent and not, for men or women or both, retreats with themes of forgiveness, ways to pray, Ignatian spirituality, to prepare for Christmas or Easter, or perhaps a retreat for a particular group — for example, young adults, veterans, or people in recovery.

Here at The Jesuit Retreat Center, each retreatant has his or her own private room with a bath, the opportunity to enjoy 38 hilly, tranquil acres with numerous trails and delicious meals in a dining room with a view of the whole valley.

Weekend retreats usually begin with a reception Friday evening, followed by dinner and a first presentation on the theme of the retreat. If it is a silent retreat, silence begins after the presentation as we walk to Rossi Chapel for Mass. The remainder of the weekend has additional presentations and Masses, opportunities for individual conferences, Reconciliation, perhaps a healing service — and very notably, the occasion to relax, rest, pray, and step away for a while from all the distractions of life. The retreat concludes with lunch on Sunday.

The history of our faith is filled with examples of those who retreated in order to hear more clearly the call of God — Moses, Jesus, Teresa of Ávila, Ignatius, Dorothy Day, to name but a few.

You will be guided by trained and experienced directors who offer the wisdom of their own spiritual journey and as well as their experience conducting retreats here and elsewhere.

Come feel the warm welcome of The Jesuit Retreat Center. We will be blessed by your presence.

THE HISTORY OF THE JESUIT RETREAT CENTER:

Prior to 1924, there was serious discussion regarding the possibility of a Jesuit retreat center somewhere in the the Bay Area. Santa Clara University had many advantages but availability was restricted to June.

When Fr. Joseph Piet, S.J. was appointed the founding head (Provincial) of the California Province of the Jesuits, he decided to search for a suitable site. On December 9, 1924, while Fr. Piet, Fr. Joseph Stack, S.J., who had been assigned to the new work, and Fr. Zacheus Maher, S.J., President of Santa Clara , were making inquiries about a Morgan Hill property, their informant mentioned a property in Los Altos that might be suitable.

The property was owned by William Wellman, director of the San Francisco wholesale grocery firm of Wellman, Peck and Co. After he moved away from his Los Altos property in 1924, it was occupied by a caretaker and his wife. The Jesuits visited the property and decided almost immediately that this was a perfect spot for the retreat house.

The property was acquired and Fr. Maher helped to get the place in order, physically and economically. The only alteration of note was the conversion of Mr. Wellman’s billiard room into a chapel by extending it. Pews and altar were a gift from Santa Clara University.

On Saturday afternoon, March 14, 1925, while Fr. Stack was in the East to review how other retreat houses were operated, Fr. Dominic Giacobbi, S.J., and Brother Stephen Vlasich, S.J., along with Antonio Rossi, who was to function as the cook, moved to Los Altos and took possession of the property. The next morning, the first Mass was celebrated in the Chapel and the Blessed Sacrament placed in the tabernacle.

The name El Retiro San Iñigo was suggested by the Most Reverend Edward J. Hanna, Archbishop of San Francisco, who heartily approved of the Jesuits’ move to Los Altos and who encouraged the retreat work. He officiated at the formal blessing and opening of the retreat house on Thursday, April 2, 1925, a joyful celebration attended by about 125 people. The Archbishop spoke briefly after a Benediction, as did Mr. Paul McCarthy of San Francisco, President of the Laymen’s Retreat League. A number of altar boys from Santa Clara University came to serve, and the young Jesuits in training from Los Gatos provided the music.

The numbers of those coming for retreats grew continually. The original Wellman home, which is now the main office building, quickly became inadequate for all the services a retreat house should offer. Twelve more acres were purchased, and Loyola Hall, a residence hall and conference area for retreatants, was built in 1927. Rossi Chapel, a gift of Fr. Carlo Rossi, S.J., in memory of his parents, followed in 1928.

The Retreat Center thrived and after World War II, when the contiguous Prosser estate became available, 22 more acres were purchased. This newest addition boasted a large Mediterranean-style mansion, now St. Robert’s Hall. Pereira Hall, which included a large dining room and kitchen and the residence for the Jesuit Community, was dedicated in 1947. Increasing numbers of retreatants necessitated building an annex to St. Robert’s in 1951. Marini Hall (1958) and St. Joseph’s Hall (1959) completed El Retiro’s residence facilities.

The next ten years saw the retreat movement and the 50 acres of The Jesuit Retreat Center continue to flourish. Many shrines were erected, especially during the second term of Fr. Neal O’Mara, S.J., after whom the main Conference Room in Loyola Hall is named.

The 1970′s brought new life to The Jesuit Retreat Center: women’s retreats and retreats for married couples were instituted; retreats for people in recovery soon began, drawing large numbers. Other retreats were developed, devoted either to special groups, such as young adults or veterans, or with a special focus, such as healing or the understanding of grief. At the same time, privately directed retreats became popular here.

Under the leadership of Fr. Robert St. Clair, S.J., in the early eighties, the Retreat Center sold about 12 acres. The interest from the endowment and the annual gifts donated by retreatants and foundations allow us to keep our retreats affordable.

Through all the change, one thing is constant: the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The Spiritual Exercises, written in the 16th century by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, invite men and women into an experience of prayer and discernment leading to greater spiritual freedom. Given in various forms and adapted for different times, groups and persons, the Exercises inspire all that El Retiro offers.

Today, a team of Jesuits and lay colleagues combine their talents to guide people in their search for God. It is a graced ministry, a work of God’s Spirit.

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