Confirmation Retreats

We invite your parish's Confirmation class and other high school youth to experience the tranquility of this holy place through a variety of experiences. Parish groups are invited to help structure the focus of their own retreat by choosing up to four of the workshops that your students will experience.  As always, we celebrate Reconciliation and share a delicious dinner at all of our Confirmation retreats. If you have any questions please contact Caelie Flanagan directly at cflanagan@holyfamilyretreat.org or 860-760-9755.

Your Retreat Experience

As part of your Confirmation Retreat planning, please take a few moments to look through the available workshop offerings and choose the four activities that would most fit the goals you have chosen for your students. The Youth and Young Adult Ministry Team is here to answer questions and provide more information should you need it.  We do suggest that you balance your day with workshop choices that vary in activity level and focus so that your students encounter a variety of different experiences. 

  • Introduction to Contemplative Prayer – Dip your toes into lectio divina and centering prayer, great tools for turning off the anxieties of our day and opening our hearts to God’s love for us!

    Explore the Labyrinth – Take a walk through the woods to our beautiful labyrinth, learn about how labyrinths have been used for centuries for prayer and experience this prayer practice firsthand (weather permitting).

    Guided Meditation – Use a Scripture passage appropriate for those preparing for Confirmation to imagine spending time in conversation with Jesus.

    Stations of the Cross — Ideal for Lent. Contemplate our beautiful outdoor stations and consider how we might encounter the crucified Christ among our own communities.

  • Music and Mandala Making – Create a beautiful, frame-able mandala with a Confirmation theme while listening to some traditional choices for Confirmation liturgy songs.

    Readers Theater — Jump into the story of Pentecost! An immersive (and fun) introduction to Ignatian imaginative prayer.

    ThanksGIVING — craft a special gift (bookmark or pocket Rosary) for your sponsor. Give as a thank-you on Confirmation Day!

  • Two Feet of Love – Explore the difference between social justice and charity to be better informed about carrying out Jesus’ call of service.

    Jesus and the Leper – After hearing the story of Jesus healing a leper, students will engage in conversation about who are lepers in our society and how we are called to serve them as Jesus did.

  • How to Be Human — An exploration of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas. We’ll examine our relationship to technology and rest in the knowing that God created us to be human beings, not ‘human doings.’

    What Will I Sacrifice? – Using an engaging activity, students are confronted with having to decide what are the most important things in their lives and where they place God on their priority list.

    Journey of Faith — Students are invited to reflect on their faith journeys so far, beginning with Baptism and tracing through their practice of faith at home and beyond. We will weigh the significance of Confirmation, and our agency to choose our faith.

  • Called Like Carlo:  What the Life of Carlo Acutis Can Teach Young People – (video presentation with conversation) In 2025, Carlo Acutis was canonized. His lifestyle, interests and work have had an enormous impact on the lives of young people who are attracted by his optimism and pure message. This workshop will introduce St. Carlo to your students and impress upon them the idea that saints aren’t all from years and years ago. Through reflection and group discussion, your students may see that they, too, can become saints. 

    Saint BINGO — A fun way to test knowledge of (and learn more about) the communion of Saints! Prizes included…

  • Step Forward, Step Back — Get a sense for where you are in terms of your faith journey when you compare it to others your age (spoiler alert: we’re in the same boat!) Be reminded that it’s God’s time that matters, not ours, and that everyone’s path is different.

    Jenga for Jesus — One of our favorites! A raucous and fun way to review the tenants of our faith (trivia pertaining to the Gospels as well as the Confirmation Mass). A reminder of Jesus’ love for us as we leave the more formal part of our catechesis.

    The Tarp Game — Work as a team, silently (yes, silently!), to build pattern recognition and unlock a ‘secret path.‘ All while learning lessons in attention and trust.

  • All retreats are from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

    No retreats other than those dates listed below.

    * September 27th, 2026 *
    *     October 11th, 2026 *
    October 18th, 2026
    November 1st, 2026
    November 8th, 2026
    November 22nd, 2026
    February 7th, 2027
    February 28th, 2027
    March 14th, 2027
    March 21st, 2027
    April 11th, 2027

    * at capacity, but available for individual makeups *

    Please call 860-760-9755 if you have any questions.

To schedule your group’s retreat, please contact Caelie Flanagan directly at cflanagan@holyfamilyretreat.org or 860-760-9755 or complete the form below. We can often accommodate small groups on alternate dates; please call to see how we can welcome your students on these unpublished dates.

Parish Confirmation Retreat Interest Form

This form is for parishes only; if you are looking to register a single student, please contact Caelie Flanagan directly at cflanagan@holyfamilyretreat.org or 860-760-9755.

Submitting this request form does not guarantee that the date is reserved for your group. We will contact you within 48 hours of receiving this request to confirm that the date is still available and that we will be able to welcome your group on the date that you submitted.  Please note, too, that some workshops are dependent on the facilitators that we have with us on the day of your retreat; should there be any conflict, we will do our best to choose a similar workshop in place of your preferred choice.