A Century of Retreat & Renewal
For many in the Chaldean community, Manresa Retreat Center is more than just a peaceful property tucked away in Bloomfield Hills—it is a spiritual refuge, a place of renewal, and, for some, a sacred tradition passed from one generation to the next.
Manresa, a Jesuit retreat house set on 39 acres of wooded grounds, fields, a flowing river and sacred monuments, is celebrating 100 years of active ministry this year. For a century, it has offered opportunities for spiritual retreats, study and sacred encounters rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
St. Ignatius (1491–1556), founder of the Jesuit order, was once a proud and ambitious soldier from a noble Spanish family. After suffering a severe injury in battle, he endured a long and painful recovery. During that time, the only books available to him were about the lives of the saints. As he read them, he noticed something profound: unlike the chivalric romances he once enjoyed, these spiritual writings filled him with peace rather than restlessness…