About Us

The first Emmaus retreat was held in the Archdiocese of Miami at the Dominican Retreat House 1978. It was developed and conducted by a team of laywomen from St. Louis Church (SLC) in Pinecrest. Father David Russell, pastor of that parish, saw the need for and envision a parish-based retreat enabling laywomen to minister to other women.

Father Russell asked his Director of Religious Education Myrna Gallagher, to put together a team of devoted women parishioners and develop a retreat for their parish.

After intense prayer and much thought, it was established that the retreat would be based on the scripture passage found in the gospel of Luke 24:13-35 (New American Bible, Revised Edition) (NABRE), the Emmaus reading.

After the retreat was developed, Father Russell was asked to review proposed program. The retreat was formed to be a parish-based ministry. Father Russell invited Brother Miguel Campos, a noted retreat master and spiritual director stationed at the retreat Archdiocese Pastoral Center, to review the program and offered several suggestions to enhance the retreat. The team took their suggestions to prayers and revised the program to become what it is today.

Thanks to “The Team” at SLC, the retreat became so successful, in 1985 it was decided to make it available for laymen to minister to other men at the invitation of Father James Fetscher, pastor of the time with SLC.

On February 14-16, 1986, the first men’s Emmaus retreat fittingly took place where it was originally held for women at SLC. That weekend fifty-one men felt the same immense power of the Holy Spirit through the Emmaus experience as all those women did a decade earlier and ever since.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Emmaus Experience retreat later became a popular movement around the world as a Christian parish-based ministry for all.

We invite you to join us all in the Emmaus Experience at our parish St Kevin Men’s Emmaus Experience Retreat (more info) or with a parish near you.

Finally, we wish to thank “The Team” with SLC, you and the Emmaus Experience retreat have been a blessing to us all.