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The Congregation of St. Joseph, a religious community of Catholic priests and brother, has always dedicated itself to serving the needs of the youth in the local community, especially those who are poor, neglected, or in special need of help and Christian education. Realizing there was no retreat center for the youth in the Diocese, the Congregation of St. Joseph, with the blessing of the local Pastors and the Diocese of Cleveland, built the St. Leonard Youth Retreat Center on their property on Case Road. We met recently with Father Giampietro Gasparin, C.S.J. (Father G.), Director of the Center, and listened as he provided this overview of St. Leonard Youth Retreat Center's offerings;
St. Leonard Youth Retreat Center, inaugurated in August 1998, is located on thirty-seven acres of private land that includes sports facilities, open space for other activities, woods with hiking trails, ponds, a gazebo, a large pavilion, and an island with a fire ring. We can accommodate sixty-four participants and eight team member for overnight retreats, and up to one hundred people for day programs. Our "St. Leonard Vocation Walk", a Prayer Hut, and a "Last 24 Hours of Jesus" prayer walk enhance the spiritual environment. Upon request, the priests of the Congregation of St. Joseph are available for sacraments, spiritual counseling, presentations, or other specific activities. We are also prepared and willing to assist groups in retreat planning or in designing and conducting a retreat for their group.
Our spacious Main Room has a loft with a magnificent view of the woods and ponds, and our dining room opens out into a patio and includes a fully equipped kitchen for use by our retreatants. The Center itself does not provide meals, but many groups bring their own kitchen crew and we are always willing to recommend local caterers. Our two dormitories are each equipped with sixteen bunk beds and a large bathroom with showers. A small chapel adjoins the main room, and a team room with conference table is conveniently located behind the kitchen. An efficiency apartment with private entrance is available for retreat leaders, and our building is fully handicapped accessible and air conditioned.
We, the members of the Congregation of St. Joseph, are honored to be called to nurture the faith of today's young people in the spirit of our founder, St. Leonard Murialdo who was dedicated to the education of young people. Some of the many youth activities we have held to further foster the spirituality of young people include our All Night Easter Vigil from Holy Saturday evening to Easter Sunday morning concluding with a sunrise mass, and our 30 Hour Famine when sixty-five teenagers went thirty hours without food to help raise $11,500.00 for starving children of the world. I have taken a group of forty teens to Rome in 2000 for the World Youth Day Celebrations, another group of forty to Germany in 2005, and a smaller group of twenty to Sidney, Australia in July 2008.
The Congregation of St. Joseph is dedicated to serving the needs of the local youth. For more information, please contact St. Leonard Youth Retreat Center, and don't forget to tell them Avon, Ohio Business & Living
sent you!
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