May 20, 2026

By Stephen Tartaglia
Diocesan Family Life Director

Men 18 and over are invited to share prayer, faith formation, fellowship and fun at the Dorm at Camp Guggenheim from June 12 to 14 at a diocesan Men’s Retreat.

Hosted by the diocesan Family Life Office, this retreat will feature Father Leagon Carlin, who will speak about G. K. Chesterton.

The cost of the retreat is $125 and men can register at https://www.rcdony.org/family-life.html at the bottom of the page. Men can arrive as early as 4 p.m. on June 12 (or later as necessary) and the retreat will end about 1 p.m. on June 14.

WHY WOULD A MAN WANT TO ATTEND A RETREAT AND HEAR ABOUT G. K. CHESTERTON?
It’s important for Catholic men to spend time with other Catholic men because, as they say, iron sharpens iron. The retreat gives men a chance to connect with other men who believe the same way and to talk about the things they hold closest to their hearts without feeling uncomfortable or out of place. In this way the retreat fosters friendships and helps in building a sense of community among the men.

The retreat helps the men to move away from the worldly picture of manliness and move closer to God’s vision for manliness. Retreats are often key to leading men to a deeper spirituality and promoting growth in holiness. The experience offers the men a chance to pray together and to celebrate the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.

Retreats help men to take their knowledge of God from their heads into their hearts, and this allows them to make positive, enduring changes in their lives.

Father Carlin explains why Chesterton is an appropriate choice for a men’s retreat: “Chesterton demonstrates how we can be authentically devoted to the truth and grow in Christian Virtue while remaining approachable, affable, and generous members of a society and culture, which doesn’t always promote that same truth or foster the Christian life.

Chesteron is often known as a master of paradox, not because he brings confusion, but because he had an immense gift for making the paradoxes of the faith, those things which seem contradictory at first glance, more clearly make sense with one another. He did so both out of a profound spiritual understanding, alongside a prophetic grounding in reality as it is, and this union allowed him to dialogue with those with whom he was in agreement, and to those with whom he had substantial differences. In a world of great division, it seems no great leap to imagine that a figure who was courageous yet also likeable, and steadfast while remaining open to others, would prove an eminently valuable guide as we spend time seeking the Lord more closely and listening for His voice.”

Please consider joining us for this retreat. For more information, contact Steve Tartaglia at 315-393-2920 or startaglia@rcdony.org.