Racine Dominicans’ Siena Retreat Center Celebrates 55 Years

The shores of Lake Michigan have drawn countless retreatants since the Racine Dominican sisters welcomed the first retreat group in January of 1966. The ecumenical group of women who came for the first retreat at the invitation of one of the sisters had been searching for a place to discuss the societal and ecclesial changes of the mid-1960s.

Word soon spread and a full retreat ministry evolved in the years that followed.

Today Siena Retreat Center is a thriving nonprofit retreat ministry offering an inviting array of online retreats and programs, spiritual guidance and supervision, three training programs, and space for private and group retreats. An on-site Bookstore is replete with resources for the spiritual journey, including books on social and environmental justice.

The Racine Dominicans funded a new building which has housed the Center since 2013. Its ADA-accessibility, private bedrooms with private bathrooms, Creativity Room, and serene spaciousness have made Siena Retreat Center a favored location for thousands of retreatants from throughout the Midwest and beyond. 

Currently private retreatants are welcomed safely with careful coronavirus protocols in place, and group retreats will resume when it is safe to do so. The pandemic has brought programming online, and Siena Retreat Center can be found on most major social media platforms.

Special features of this celebratory year include a Matching Challenge Grant of $5,555 and a concert with singer and songwriter Sara Thomsen on Sunday, April 18, 2021. 

The public is invited to visit Siena Retreat Center in person in Racine, Wisconsin, or explore more online at www.SienaRetreatCenter.org