Schedule of Retreats

Schedule an Individual Private Retreat

You can make a reservation for a private, silent retreat with or without direction sessions with Dir. Kathy Kemler or Fr. Bob Dufford, SJ. We offer 3-, 8- and 30-day durations, which can start on any day of the week. You are welcome to suggest your own dates, and we’ll confirm your reservation if we have capacity at that time. 

Please call or email to schedule. The process begins with selecting dates and then we verify if there is a director and an apartment available. Your registration form is reviewed before confirming the reservation. (Please print, complete, scan to email or mail.) Once confirmed, a nonrefundable deposit will be requested. It is later applied toward the final invoice.

Contact us with your suggested dates at 712.778.2466 or email the Retreat Center. Once your dates are approved, you will need to complete and submit a registration form.

A few more details that may be helpful to know; guests on private retreats stay in efficiency apartments and prepare their own meals. The apartment has a combined living/dining area, bedroom area and private bathroom. The kitchenette includes a refrigerator with freezer, microwave, drip coffee maker (and filters), toaster, electric skillet, hot plate and sink. There are miscellaneous glasses/cups, dishes/bowls and silverware; however, no food, so plan for simple meals including the salt/pepper. Dish soap/dish towels, bedding and bath towels are provided too. It is a private unit that is just steps away from the woods where the deer and wild turkey roam.

Suggested stipend is $50-$75/session and the room rate is $55/per night per person.

Contact us with your suggested dates at 712.778.2466 or email the Retreat Center.

A 3-day retreat is great for first timers and those with busy schedules. It allows you to become more comfortable with the silence that’s a necessary component of a fruitful retreat, providing an opportunity to listen to God, become more aware of God’s love and gain a deeper understanding of how it manifests. You can attend with a small group or register for men- or women-only retreats.

Join a Scheduled Retreat

The retreats include your own room, buffet-style meals, opportunity for mass and confession, and meeting with a trained spiritual director for 30 minutes to 1 hour each day.

• Check-in is 4–5 p.m.
• The retreat concludes at 3 p.m. on the last date
• The cost is $375, with a $75 nonrefundable deposit (applied toward the final invoice)

Available Dates

• June 29– July 2, 2025 (Sunday–Wednesday)

Upcoming Dates

• Oct. 23-26, 2025
• Dec. 4-7, 2025.  

Registration for these retreats will open in July.  You are welcome to sign up for our newsletter to receive announcements. 

For questions, please call 712.778.2466 or email the Retreat Center.

We offer the opportunity to attend the Creighton University Christian Spirituality Program (CSP) 8-Day Silent Ignatian Retreat. It includes 4 to 5 set pray periods (of at least 45 minutes) each day, as well as 30- to 45-minute daily meetings with a spiritual director. During these meetings, the spiritual director will listen to reflections about how God is present in the retreatant’s life and offer Scripture passages and other materials for further reflection and prayer. 

2025 CSP Silent Ignatian Retreat, May 27 – June 5

This retreat is recommended for retreatants who have already attended a 3- or 4-day silent retreat. It’s led by CSP graduate faculty and graduate students who are trained in the evocative and contemplative approach of spiritual direction. During the retreat, you will meet with your assigned director each day. Space is limited and registrations are made in the order received.

• The cost is $850, with a $200 nonrefundable deposit due upon registration
• The fee includes a single occupancy room with ensuite bath, meals and all costs related to direction and supervision

What will I do on retreat?

This retreat is more about “being” than doing. You will spend time each day in prayer and reflection (usually 4-5 set “prayer periods” of at least 45 minutes) and you will meet with your spiritual director each day. You are also encouraged to enjoy individual leisure time (music, puzzles, art) and exercise daily. Eucharistic liturgy is offered each day and there will be opportunities for sacrament of reconciliation.

What are the Spiritual Exercises and what does a spiritual director do?

Spiritual Exercises refers to the handbook written by St. Ignatius based on his own personal spiritual experience and that of others to whom he listened. It is an organized series of spiritual exercises that invite individuals to meditate on Christian faith and to contemplate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although ultimately God is “directing” your retreat, each person is assigned a spiritual director. A spiritual director is someone who is committed to prayer, and has training and experience with Ignatius spirituality and Scripture. You will meet with your spiritual director each day for approximately 30-45 minutes. Your director will listen to your reflections about how God is present in your life. S/he will offer Scripture passages and other materials for your prayer and reflection.

What about the silence?

You will be speaking with your director at daily meetings and also have the opportunity to pray aloud at daily liturgy. Silence is not the focus of the retreat, but it is a necessary component of a fruitful retreat. God speaks to us in many ways, and at times God speaks to us through our conversations with others. However, the 8-Day Retreat is a privileged time when we can tune out the noise and distractions of our regular routines in order to more intentionally focus on our relationship with God.

In order to be open to the ways and times that God wishes to communicate with each person; all retreatants are asked to maintain an atmosphere of silence for the duration of the retreat. In this setting silence is an attitude of making space for God in your life. Silence invites you to give your attention to all the ways that God can speak to you without the distractions of noise, gossip, and business. The silence and solitude is not a withdrawal from, but an opening to; we are not leaving the world but allowing ourselves to be present to it, to be touched by it, and thus better come to realize our place in it.

For more information or to reserve your spot, email the Retreat Center or call 402.280.2501.
View the PDF Flyer

Day-long Ignatian retreats are designed using the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Get away from the hectic pace of life and take time to deepen your relationship with God by engaging your heart, mind, body and eternal soul. Expect God to work in powerful ways through the promises of His revealed Word combined with the rhythm that St. Ignatius developed to contemplate it. The exercises are Holy Spirit inspired and the word of God is living and active, so each retreat is a non-repeatable experience. One-day retreats are available in small group settings with periods of silence or as private, individual retreats.

Sample Retreat Schedule

While single-day retreats may follow the schedule below, we can help you customize a retreat for your group.

• 8:45 a.m. | Arrive at the Creighton University Retreat Center
• 9 a.m. | Mass with the Rev. Bob Dufford, SJ in the St. Kateri Chapel
• 9:45 a.m. | Refreshments in the Loyola Dining Hall
• 10 a.m. | Retreat session with Fr. Dufford and/or scheduled spiritual directors
• 12 p.m. | Lunch in the Loyola Dining Hall
• 1 p.m. | Group sharing
• 1:30 p.m. | Enjoy our prayer spaces and the grounds
• 3 p.m. | Departure

To request more information or schedule a retreat, please call 712.788.2466 or email the Retreat Center.  When emailing, be sure to include one or two preferred days of week and (if applicable) the size of the group.

Private directed 8-day and 30-day retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and guided by our directors are offered throughout the year in hopes of meeting individual schedules. Email us or call 712.788.2466 with your preferred dates.

Private retreats of any duration with Spiritual Direction are available by request. It is recommended to begin with a 3 or 4-day silent retreat before the 8-day retreat. Retreats can start any day of week.

Directors

• Fr. Bob Dufford, S.J.
• Dir. Kathy Kemler

Dates
Please call 712.788.2466 or email CURC@Creighton.edu to schedule. The process begins with selecting dates, and then we verify if there is a director and an apartment available. Your registration form is reviewed before confirming the reservation. (Please print, complete, scan to email or mail.) Once confirmed, a non-refundable deposit will be requested. It is later applied toward the final invoice.

What will I do on retreat?

This retreat is more about “being” than doing. You will spend time each day in prayer and reflection (usually 4-5 set “prayer periods” of at least 45 minutes) and you will meet with your spiritual director each day. You are also encouraged to enjoy individual leisure time (music, puzzles, art) and exercise daily. Eucharistic liturgy is offered each day and there will be opportunities for sacrament of reconciliation.

What are the Spiritual Exercises and what does a spiritual director do?

Spiritual Exercises refers to the handbook written by St. Ignatius based on his own personal spiritual experience and that of others to whom he listened. It is an organized series of spiritual exercises that invite individuals to meditate on Christian faith and to contemplate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although ultimately God is “directing” your retreat, each person is assigned a spiritual director. A spiritual director is someone who is committed to prayer, and has training and experience with Ignatius spirituality and Scripture. You will meet with your spiritual director each day for approximately 30-45 minutes. Your director will listen to your reflections about how God is present in your life. S/he will offer Scripture passages and other materials for your prayer and reflection.

What about the silence?

You will be speaking with your director at daily meetings and also have the opportunity to pray aloud at daily liturgy. Silence is not the focus of the retreat, but it is a necessary component of a fruitful retreat. God speaks to us in many ways, and at times God speaks to us through our conversations with others. However, the 8-Day Retreat is a privileged time when we can tune out the noise and distractions of our regular routines in order to more intentionally focus on our relationship with God.

In order to be open to the ways and times that God wishes to communicate with each person; all retreatants are asked to maintain an atmosphere of silence for the duration of the retreat. In this setting silence is an attitude of making space for God in your life. Silence invites you to give your attention to all the ways that God can speak to you without the distractions of noise, gossip, and business. The silence and solitude is not a withdrawal from, but an opening to; we are not leaving the world but allowing ourselves to be present to it, to be touched by it, and thus better come to realize our place in it.

Here are some particulars:
The retreatant is usually expected to prepare simple meals for themselves during the retreat, but may wish to partake of the meals provided by our Dining Hall kitchen if a group retreat is running at the same time. An efficiency kitchenette is available for your use in your apartment, which has a living area, private bath, and sleeping quarters. Walking trails (unmaintained) in a full nature setting are available on our 157 wooded acres & some run along the Nishnabotna River. Wildlife and song birds abound, and we have an awesome night sky. Please bring comfortable clothes, walking shoes, your favorite copy of Scripture and a notebook.

For more information or to reserve your spot, email the Retreat Center or call 712.778.2466.