From May 21-25, all Institute priests serving in the American Province met at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis for an annual retreat. Monsignor Gilles Wach, Prior General of the Institute, came from Gricigliano to preach to the assembled priests during this time of recollection. There were a total of 14 priests attending the American retreat, including US nationals Canon Jason Apple, General Prefect at the Seminary and former Vicar at St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis, and Canon Michael Stein, currently serving at Our Lady of Lourdes in Libreville in Gabon, Africa. Also present at the retreat was Father Jean-Pierre Herman, an affiliate priest of the Institute.
Similar retreats were preached by Monsignor Wach to the priests of the Institute: last March in Germany and last October in France. In all cases, the canons had the opportunity to pray the Divine Office together, and share fraternal meals as a community. These retreats have been indispensable for renewing the interior lives of the priests, as well as for the fraternal unity of the Institute.
For the community of faithful in St. Louis, this is the second time this Institute apostolate served as the setting for the annual retreat. The generous Midwestern hospitality displayed so wonderfully at last year's priests' retreat was more than matched by a repeat this year. Many individuals and families put in countless volunteer hours to prepare the former convent building in order to accommodated the visiting clergy. The preparation for the retreat included renovating the convent chapel, so that additional altars were available for the priests' private Masses.
On Thursday evening, Monsignor Wach was the celebrant of a Solemn High Mass, with Canon Jason Apple and Canon Aaron Huberfeld, two former vicars of the Oratory, as Deacon and Subdeacon, respectively. All the faithful had the opportunity to greet Monsignor Wach, the visiting priests, and their former vicars in a festive reception in the Oratory Hall after Mass. In his address of the faithful Monsignor Wach once again reiterated his appreciation of the faithful's collaborative work with the Institute in St. Louis and elsewhere in the United States. On behalf of the Institute and all the clergy who attended the retreat this year, Monsignor expressed his deep gratitude to the St. Louis faithful for their generous spirit and caring support of the Institute and its priests.
Special thanks to Jerry Naunheim Photography for the group photo and the photos of Thursday's Mass.