History

History of the Spiritual Renewal Center

The Spiritual Renewal Center has been supporting spiritual formation and providing retreats for over half a century. In 1955, Edwin V. Byrnes, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese Santa Fe, invited the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de’Ricci to come to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to run the Catechetical Office for the Archdiocese. That year, two sisters, Josephine Kinder, OP, and Paula Sheehy, OP, came to Albuquerque to begin their ministry with the intention of opening a retreat house for women. The same year the Sisters were joined by Sr. Rose Petruzzo, OP.

Initially the Sisters purchased a house at 715 Carlisle S.E. and renovated the house to serve as a convent for the Sisters. At the same time, with the help of Martin W. Eckert, they began to search for an appropriate site for their planned retreat house. In 1956, the Sisters located a house built by Bernard May for his family on a seventy acre tract ten miles from the center of the city of Albuquerque. The property, which is today the location of Santa Maria de la Vida Priory for The Norbertine Community, was located at 5825 Coors Road S. W. Because of the 35 foot elevation above the South Valley it offered a commanding view of the Sandia, Manzano and Jemez mountains. An orchard of thirty-five to forty fruit trees and a forty foot corral were also part of the property. Additionally, the property was home to about 2000 trees, typical of the Southwest, along with irrigated well, underground electrical wiring, curiously, an airplane hangar and two runways that had accommodated Mr. May’s plane. The house itself was yellow wire-cut brick with redwood shake roof. The patio in front of the house was landscaped and enclosed with a low brick wall. On December 19, 1956, the congregation purchased the property from Marcella May for $60,000.

The Sisters soon moved in to begin the preparation of the building for day retreats and accommodations for the Sisters. .Prior to the establishment of the Dominican Retreat House in Albuquerque, the closest retreat for women was in El Pomar, Colorado. The blessing of the New Dominican Retreat House was held on March 6, 1957, with Archbishop Edwin Byrne presiding at the blessing and the Mass.

The event did not turn out as planned. Typical of the Albuquerque area in March, a severe wind and sand storm began shortly before the ceremonies were to begin. Since a large part of the day’s festivities were scheduled for outdoor areas, the event was hastily reorganized. Many of the participants left before the blessing began, but more than 300 stayed to witness the ceremonies and enjoy the refreshments. The Dominican Sisters were kept busy serving dinner to the Archbishop and about twenty-five priests and twenty Sisters from other congregations, as well as serving tea to the hundreds of guests. All was complicated by the need to rewash all the dishes which had been set up outside before the sand storm began. However, a large group of women and young girls had volunteered to help and all came together smoothly as the sun returned. The presence of volunteers was a constant part of all retreats and a tribute to the many women who would volunteer in order to make retreats available to more women after they enjoyed their own.

After opening its doors to retreatants on March 16, 1957, the Dominican Retreat House welcomed over a thousand women in its first year of operation. The following year saw a total of 1,518 attending the sixty day retreats offered that year. By 1961 a second dormitory building was constructed to accommodate twenty-five overnight retreatants and six rooms for the Sisters living in the community. With the help of volunteers, retreatants, friends and supporters the Sisters were able to furnish the facility and enrich the setting with artwork and landscaping.

In the 1980’s, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de’Ricci, having opened other retreat houses in Virginia and Florida as well as extending the congregation’s religious education ministries, found it necessary to bring changes to the Albuquerque Retreat House. Seventy acres of land were sold, and the Retreat House itself, with the remaining twenty acres, was given to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for a retreat facility to be operated by the Archdiocese. The Dominican Sisters continued to serve in the Retreat House under contract to Archbishop Sanchez, the Ordinary at that time. By 1992, the Archdiocese found it necessary to sell the retreat property but made an offer to the congregation to use Madonna Hall on the grounds of the former University of Albuquerque, which had recently closed.

Instead, with the help of the Board of Directors, comprised of lay men and women, the Sisters were able to rent facilities from the Servants of the Paraclete, on Pajarito Road, about two miles from the first retreat house location. The Sisters continued their retreat ministry at the Pajarito site for nearly 12 years.

The current site of the Spiritual Renewal Center was purchased, renovated and expanded for the continuation of the retreat ministry in 2001. Dozens of retreatants and volunteers came to know the work and dedication of Sr. Margaret Mary Borek, OP, who became the driving force for the continuation of the retreat ministry in Albuquerque until her health decline in 2009.

In 2004, the Spiritual Renewal Center, through the combined efforts of the Board of Directs and the Sisters, built the exiting dormitory, which provides private retreat rooms for up to forty retreatants, a gathering space with garden views and a fireplace, a library, registration area, and laundry facilities.

The Dominican Sisters completed their ministry at the Spiritual Renewal Center in 2009, turning over operations to the Board of Directors of the non-profit corporation that continues to operate it. The Center continues its retreat ministry offering retreats that support personal development, celebrate its Roman Catholic heritage and the charisms of the religious communities in the Albuquerque area, spiritual enrichment programs, as well as retreats for parish and congregational staff.

Sisters who served at the Dominican Retreat House from 1957 to 2009:

Living Members: Sisters Margaret Mary Borek, Brigid Cannon, Maureen Cannon, Amata Dawson, Ruth Elsner, Teresa Gurule, Jeanmarie Gustitus, Joan Kane, Carolyn Krebs, Mary Irene Lolli, Helen Cecilia Lowen, Mary Meenan, Dolores Ann Pfeiffer, Iliana Valdes.

Deceased Members: Sisters Janey Haley, Kevin Harte, Aquinas Kilrain, Josephine Kinder, Gertrude Scheerer, Margaret Mary Seguin, Rita Marie Stokes, Michael Rock.

Left the Congregation: Marie Delaney, Victoria Kingston, Paula Sheehy