The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation Announces Launch of Online Ignatian Retreat

The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation, which operates an Ignatian retreat facility in Gretna, Nebraska, today announced it will offer an online Ignatian retreat to support a worldwide community of those seeking comfort and support during these challenging times. The online retreat runs for 34 weeks, draws directly from the teachings of St. Ignatius, and is designed for people who are not able to make an in-person, silent retreat.

The online Ignatian retreat will use materials adapted by Father Andy Alexander, S.J., and Maureen McCann Waldron from the original texts of St. Ignatius, from Creighton University’s Online Ministries website. Beginning April 9, members of the Cloisters Community will receive an email each Thursday with a link to that week’s retreat. People who are not already members of the Cloisters Community are invited to join the Cloisters Community and to make the online retreat by visiting www.CloistersOnThePlatte.com.

The online retreat draws from St. Ignatius’ practical approach, but rather than a weekend of silence, those making the online retreat are asked to place the retreat material from that week into the background of their everyday lives. In this way, participants can make a retreat by exploring their own experiences and relationship with God while honoring current safety guidelines.

“We believe the teachings of St. Ignatius are more important now than ever as we face this unprecedented time of stress and dislocation,” said Joe Ricketts, Chairman of The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation.

Father Andy Alexander, S.J., who serves on the Board of the Cloisters on the Platte and co-authored this online adaptation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, added, “We hope this online retreat brings comfort and helps those facing turbulent days.”

ABOUT THE CLOISTERS ON THE PLATTE

The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation operates an Ignatian retreat center near Gretna, Nebraska. The retreat center, which is open to people of all faiths, was given as a gift to the community by entrepreneur and philanthropist Joe Ricketts. Carved out of a scenic, 930-acre site in the Platte River Valley, the campus includes the retreat center, an 80-seat chapel modeled after St. Margaret Mary Church in Omaha, seven guest lodges with private bedrooms and bathrooms, and 14 Stations of the Cross sculptures that line a 2,500-foot walking path. The retreats are based on St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spiritual exercises of prayer, silence, spiritual guidance, and contemplative reading of scripture. The center provides a quiet setting for spiritual and personal reflection about one’s life and relationship with God.

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