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Retreats

Enjoy Community and Have Fun

Students at West Catholic have the opportunity to attend both voluntary school-sponsored retreats and grade-level retreats. All students have the chance to enjoy the faith and fun of the yearly Life Force Retreat. Also, each year all juniors have the opportunity to experience the community of the annual Kairos Retreat.  

In addition to the Life Force and Kairos Retreats, students attend a yearly grade-level retreat that provides focused, faith-based activities. 

Steubenville Youth Conference

Each summer, a busload of students from West Catholic travels to Steubenville, Ohio, for the Steubenville Youth Conference. It is a powerful weekend of growing closer to God. Thousands of high school students from across the Midwest participate in this conference. Many have reported having a profound encounter with God on this retreat. It is a memorable weekend of dynamic talks, meaningful conversations and transformative encounters with our Lord. From incoming freshmen to outgoing seniors, all are invited to join us. Signups open in January each year.

Build Life-Long Bonds

Grade-level retreats are a great way for students to build their Christian identity, strengthen and reinvigorate their faith, and forge lasting friendships with their peers and Christ. 
This one-day retreat is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for high school. It is held at the beginning of the school year to help the students get to know each other. The day starts with a focus on the fact that the foundation for high school is Jesus Christ. Activities at the retreat include speakers, small group sessions, and prayer work toward building a Catholic identity in which freshmen can be secure in their faith and in the Christian community of our school.
The sophomore class gathers off campus for a day of spiritual reinvigoration. The retreat focuses on our unique call as God’s sons and daughters. Since young men and women have different struggles and needs, the guys and girls will be at different locations with each retreat tailored to the individual challenges of the participants.
The junior retreat is a day-long opportunity to move students into a deeper relationship with Christ and with the Church community. Speakers, skits, small groups, prayer and other activities are designed to move students beyond a “moralistic therapeutic deism” to a firmer connection with the person of Jesus Christ acting in their lives and through the truths of the Church.
Seniors gather for a two-day overnight G.I.F.T. (Growing in Faith Together) Days Retreat comprised of small group discussions and presentations following a designated theme, planned and facilitated by students, staff and parent volunteers. The theme is based on the transition from high school to Catholic adulthood. Talks and activities focus on living the Catholic faith in college, adult relationships, Catholic morality, developing Christian community, and cultivating love and service for others. The retreat includes eucharistic adoration and concludes with a Mass.