San Alfonso Retreat House
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch, New Jersey
Welcome!
San Alfonso Retreat House is a Redemptorist spiritualty center, situated on eight beautiful acres overlooking the vast Atlantic Ocean. Its outdoor shrines, prayer garden, green lawn, beautiful chapels, and comfortable accommodations have been “HOLY GROUND” for laity, religious, and clergy for almost 90 years. It is truly a place to experience the presence of God and to reflect on the action of God in one’s life.
Our Faith
Our Roman Catholic faith comprises what we believe and how we live that belief. For 2,000 years, this Roman Catholic faith has been handed down from one generation to next, starting with Jesus Christ passing the faith to the twelve Apostles. In our own lives, we may receive that faith from our parents, from friends, or even a stranger we meet.
Living as a Roman Catholic includes many wonderful beliefs, practices, and devotions; too many to catalog here. But we hope to provide you with a brief overview of what we believe and how we live that belief.
We hope this resource will be valuable to both interested non-Roman Catholics as well as to those already Roman Catholic who might be looking to deepen the practice of their faith.
What Is A Retreat?
A retreat is a time to come away from the busy world and reflect on your spiritual life in a variety of ways. Some retreats are led by our retreat team with talks, rituals, liturgies and time for quiet contemplation. Others join us for private retreats, giving them personal time to use our chapels, reading rooms, shrines, and grounds to get in touch with our God who is in each one of us.
Weekend Retreats For Men and Women
We offer several retreats each year on a theme that is the basis for the conferences, rituals, and liturgies. Most retreats start on Friday evening with registration, a meal, an orientation followed by a prayer service, and a movie. Saturday continues with morning prayer, breakfast, a conference and Mass. The afternoon has free time followed by another a conference, dinner and an evening ritual. Sunday starts with breakfast, then a conference and Sunday Mass.
Mid-Week Women’s Retreats
All women are welcome! It follows the schedule above, but starts on Tuesday and concludes Thursday.
Eucharistic Adoration
Many of our retreats begin with late afternoon adoration before and concurrent with registration. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed and all are invited to pray before the Lord Jesus.
Days of Recollection
From September to April we have monthly days of prayer with breakfast, morning prayer, a talk, mass and lunch. All are welcome. We also are happy to make arrangements with groups that wish to hold days or evenings of prayer.
Special Events
We have additional programs throughout the year that address a specific subject or group. We have Directed Retreats, a Film Retreat, a Valentine’s evening of recollection, a Celtic Spirituality day, and other events. See the calendar for more information.
Senior High School and Confirmation Groups
Many local parochial / private schools come to the retreat house for a day of prayer with their students before graduation or confirmation. It is a great way to center the students on the spiritual road ahead.
Sisters Retreats
During Holy Week and several Sunday through Friday dates throughout the Spring and Summer we offer retreats for sisters from all orders. It is a time of fellowship and prayer, with conferences, rituals and daily mass. There is personal time each afternoon.
Priest / Clergy Retreats
Offered Monday through Thursday, these retreats offer clergy a time of hospitality, conferences (centered on subjects of interest to pastors and other ministers), plenty of quiet time for rest and reflection, and daily liturgy of the hours and mass.
We also have a weekend retrreat for deacons.
Recovery Retreats
We have a long history of being a place to renew the soul for those who need healing. We work with several Matt Talbot chapters, AA groups, and Serenity to offer programs that support our brothers and sisters in recovery.
AA Evenings of Reflection
On the Thursday before the First Friday of the month (Sept to May) we have recollection evenings with a meal, a talk and mass for those in AA.
Outside Groups
We are always interested in hosting events for religious, civic, and business groups. We have hosted health care organizations, mental health professionals, Diocesan ministries, faculty and/or school administration groups, and a variety of other groups.
