We realize that sometimes that there are extenuating circumstances (like illness or tragedy) that make it impossible for a student to attend their own parish’s Confirmation retreat, and we want to help you out if we possibly can. The MORE Team presents quite a few Confirmation retreats every school year, and so we have a process in place for anyone interested in trying to attend another parish’s Confirmation retreat. We ask that you follow the steps below, in order, if you wish to pursue this option.

Please make sure that your parish’s Confirmation coordinator is comfortable with you attending another parish’s Confirmation retreat. If – and only if – you have their permission to pursue this process, then continue…
Look over our list of retreats and choose two or three options that will definitely work for you and your family. Please make sure that you choose options that are of a comparable length to the retreat being offered by your parish, and please make sure that they are Confirmation retreats, since (as you will see) we offer a wide variety of retreats to a wide variety of audiences.
Because of the time it takes to process these requests and to ensure adequate time for all communication to be done transparently, we require that you contact us at least one week in advance of any retreats you might want to attend.
Send an email to paul@marianistretreat.com AND to your parish’s Confirmation coordinator and ensure that the email includes the following information: name of the Confirmation candidate, his or her parent/legal guardian, his/her Confirmation sponsor, the name of your parish Confirmation coordinator, which parish you are from, and the two or three options that work best for you.
Please wait patiently for a reply, since we are not in the office every day, and please keep in mind that not every parish is amenable to guests attending their retreat, that some retreats require the students’ sponsor (or a sponsor substitute) to attend, and that some parishes my require a fee to offset their costs of hosting a retreat.
If it works out for you to attend an alternate Confirmation retreat, please check with your parish Confirmation coordinator to find out how they would like to verify for your attendance. The MORE Team does have an official form that works for this purpose; if you need that form, please contact Paul Masek (paul@marianistretreat.com).
If your parish contracts with the MORE Team for its Confirmation retreat, we offer this service free of charge.
If your parish does not contract with the MORE Team for its Confirmation retreat, we do ask a $25/student processing fee (if you can afford it) for this service; you can make that donation here and if you do, please forward verification of your payment to paul@marianistretreat.com

Should you have any questions about this process, please contact your own parish’s Confirmation coordinator or Paul Masek, Program Director of the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center (314.608.5447 or paul@marianistretreat.com).

We are praying for you; please pray for us!

Steps for Attending an Alternate Confirmation Retreat (at another parish)

Be Still Here