Three days prior, the students, who were unfamiliar with one another, had filed into the same parish early on a Friday morning.

“We were all individuals when we started,” said Kaela Malozewski, also from Bishop Allen. “But within a few hours, we were already being drawn together. I became a lot calmer, less stressed and just happy. I began to realize my real self and stopped putting up masks for everyone.”

Through a semi-annual retreat system that originated more than 20 years ago in New York, young adults who attend SLR have an opportunity to spend time with others, have time for themselves and be free from the stress and routine of everyday life, all in a Catholic environment.

The retreat’s origin and power find their roots in Don Bosco’s spiritual wisdom and knowledge of youth. Don Bosco was an Italian priest who lived in the 19th century, dedicating his entire life to educating and touching the hearts of the young. Using peer ministry, the retreat is founded on Don Bosco’s four “Oratorian Criteria”: a home that welcomes, a school that educates, a church that evangelizes and a playground that gathers.

“The retreat’s atmosphere is joy, love and playfulness, and so it builds trust in both others and God,” said Fr. Mike Pace, the Salesian pastor of St. Benedict’s who has attended more than 20 retreats. “The youthful joy in the students comes out as they open like a flower in the sun.”

The retreat places a heavy emphasis on trust and allows retreatants to feel comfortable and connected to one another.

“Everyone’s on the same level, which might not be the case back at home or school,” said Parastesh.

In an environment free from stress and judgment, even the shyest participants have the opportunity to share. What results is a memorable collection of smiles, laughs and tears, as both the retreatants and leaders admit. The leadership consists of clergy such as the Salesians, the order of Don Bosco with a particular focus on youth, lay adults such as teachers, and a young leader team of Grade 12s, all under the direction of Frankie Iacobazzi, a teacher from De La Salle College Oaklands.

John Rugosi, a member of the young leader team from Dante Aligheri, found that leading gave him a new perspective on the experience.

“You can see God’s presence radiate in the retreatants,” says Rugosi.

The retreat is traditionally Catholic as it initiates the youth in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. However, it keeps in mind youth interests, and allows them to have fun.

“In a culture that is full of the quick transfer of information, but not necessarily communication, the retreat gives the youth a chance for honest relationships and sincere communication within a family experience, which may be refreshing or even novel for some retreatants,” said Pace.

This group of retreatants will now join the long list of alumni who have attended over the past 20 years, some of whom will return as leaders in the next retreat, in February, to help guide what Pace describes as “the miracle of God’s love experienced by the young, for the young.”

(Rinaldi, 17, is a Grade 12 student at Brebeuf College School in Toronto.)