Retreats, Pilgrimages, & Service Immersion Trips
RETREATS
Grow in your faith through one of our retreats—short and intensive programs designed to take you out of the ordinary without traveling.
Welcome Retreat
September 13, 2026, 12–3 pm
All STM newcomers are invited to this mini-retreat featuring prayer, journaling, and reflection on the themes of arrival and growth as you deepen roots in the New Haven and this community.
Contact: Pauline.Little@yale.edu or Damon.McGraw@yale.edu
Fall Retreat
Stay tuned!
Enjoy a one day pause for prayer, discussion and relaxation with Yale peers as you reflect on your faith journey amidst the busyness of life. This retreat is open to all undergrad, graduate, post-bac, and post-doc students.
Contact: Pauline.Little@yale.edu or Damon.McGraw@yale.edu
Advent Busy Person's Retreat
Stay tuned!
ake your Advent experience to another level as you enter into this one-week retreat in everyday life. Students and community members are paired with a chaplain to meet with one time, while committing to thirty minutes of prayer a day during this weeklong retreat.
Contact: Pauline.Little@yale.edu
Lenten Grief Retreat
Stay tuned!
The theme of this year's one-day retreat “Lent & Loss.” Together we will explore the various types of losses in our life through prayer, reflection, and discussion while making space for grief and healing. This retreat ends with a Sunday vigil Mass at 4 pm.
Contact: Pauline.Little@yale.edu
Undergrad Overnight Retreat
Stay tuned!
Come away from campus for one day. Enjoy the beauty of Enders Island. Encounter Jesus in Adoration and the Mass. Have down time, prayer time, and fun time with other members of the undergraduate community.
Contact SrMaryRose.Irvine@yale.edu or Damon.McGraw@yale.edu
FAITH DEVELOPMENT EXCURSIONS
Develop your faith and meet other Catholics through these off-site excursions.
Fall Pilgrimage
Take a few days mid-term alongside Fr. Joe and Sister Mary Rose.
Ignatian Teach-In for Justice
November 14–16, Washington, DC
Join fellow students from around the country at the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the United States! Led by Assistant Chaplain Damon McGraw and Chaplaincy Intern Fiona Chen, students will be empowered, re-energized, inspired, challenged, and supported by a community that sees faith and justice as integrally linked.
Contact: Damon.McGraw@yale.edu
SEEK Conference
Columbus, Ohio
Take your faith to a new depth in this life-changing conference. Join thousands of Catholic students for five days of community, prayer, the Sacraments, Adoration, and inspiring speakers. Encounter our God, "Ever Ancient, Ever New."
Contact: SrMaryRose.Irvine@yale.edu
World Youth Day
August 3–8, 2027, South Korea
World Youth Day (WYD) is a massive international pilgrimage and gathering of young people that happens every three to four years, bringing youth together to encounter Christ through the sacraments, fellowship, and catechesis. STM is sending a delegation of students to join this experience of the universal Church, encounter the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and immerse themselves in Korean Catholicism and culture.
Contact: Allan.Esteron@yale.edu
SPRING SERVICE IMMERSION TRIPS
Take part in a formative, faith-centered and life-changing experience outside your STM community over spring break. Immerse yourself in a new community—locally or abroad—while bearing witness to the truly universal nature of the Catholic Church.
Silent Retreat
March 7–13, 2027
Take advantage of a unique opportunity for shared silence with Yale peers as together we enter into a time of prayer, contemplation, reflection and intentionally slowing down mid-semester. Step away from your everyday frenetic life to pause and reconnect with God and yourself through this spiritual invitation. This retreat is open to all students.
Paraguay
March 2027
Join us for a transformational service immersion trip to the heart of South America. This unique, one-week journey invites you to step off the tourist path and engage deeply with the people, history, and pressing challenges of Paraguay. Through meaningful cultural exchange, hands-on service, and active learning, you will explore how faith, justice, and community action intersect in this fascinating, modern mestizo society.
Los Angeles
March 7–12, 2027
Explore the theme of restorative justice on this spring immersion trip to Los Angeles by reflecting on the realities faced by marginalized communities, witnessing how Catholic Social Teaching is lived out, deepening your understanding of systemic injustices, and exploring ways to address them. The immersion includes a visit to Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the country. Apply here.
Rome Pilgrimage
March 2027
Take a spiritual and cultural journey to the heart of the Catholic faith in Rome, Italy. Our pilgrimage will be centered around visits to the city's Major Basilicas and catacombs and will also include other major historical and cultural landmarks. Much more than a tour, it will feature opportunities for prayer, learning, and reflection as we grow in faith through this living encounter with this most influential Catholic location.
Eligibility
Open to current Yale undergraduate and graduate/professional students. Group size is limited to ensure a meaningful, small-group experience.
Jamaica 2025