Jesuits of Canada are closing the beloved Loyola house retreat and spiritual formation program in Guelph by the end of 2025.  As a community, many of us had the privilege of being nourished in the magnificent nature and farmland surrounding Loyola house.  Now Loyola House will be closing its door to countless weary souls desperate for a sanctuary from the relentless pace of modern life - where they can find stillness, clarity, and healing.  This precious inclusive space and its staff, which have been a crucial part of our holistic wellbeing, need our voices more than ever.

 It started with a piece of toast.  Drained physically and spiritually by relentless demands of work, study and everything in life, I found myself at Loyola house's silent retreat.  Waiting for my toast at lunch, smoke suddenly start coming out from toaster.  We frantically scrambled to fetch the piece out before it was too late.  After lunch I took a walk on one of the many beautiful trails on the retreat center's property.   Tired and restless with a never-ending mental list, I sat on a tree stump staring blankly at the vast luscious farmland.  The land's stillness pressed in, not unkindly, but with a quiet insistence.  I thought of my toast at lunch.  It was not done, but the leftover crumbs in the toaster was smoldering.  Like the many unexamined wounds and trauma in life. I was the burning toaster.  I took a deep breath in and let the cool earthy air filled my lungs.  I felt my tightened jaws relaxed for the first time.  I could hear the birds sang.  

 Loyola house is such a space.  An inclusive sacred space that is welcoming, inviting and inspiring.  Its retreats are always mindful of retreatants’ personal unique journey, leaving generous time and space for them to rest, reflect and renew.  Physically, emotionally and spiritually transformed, whether through a word of wisdom from the spiritual director, a breeze singing through the leaves, or a piece of toast.  Those who come here do not simply attend a program — they enter a transformative relationship with place, silence, spirit, and Earth. This experience simply cannot be replicated in another location.

Sign now to urge Jesuits of Canada to keep the Ignatian retreat program at Loyola House alive in Guelph, Ontario,  sacred and irreplaceable ministry where spirituality, ecology, and community come together as one.  Stop the termination before damages to this sacred space and program become irreparable.  

We respectfully call for:

• A commitment to continue the Ignatian retreat program on-site in Guelph;
• Exploration of collaborative solutions with the wider community;
• Recognition that this land-based spiritual ministry is irreplaceable.

We stand ready to support this sacred work — in prayer, presence, and action.

 Let us not close what has become a sacred refuge for thousands. Let us nourish its future, just as it has nourished ours.  

Sincerely,

Ada So