Koinonia Weekends
Offered 3 times each year, Catholic Illini retreat weekends are completely student-run. A retreat weekend for students, by students, this amazing 3-day retreat is all about helping you find peace of mind, freedom of heart, and an amazing community of love and friendship.
By the end of the weekend you'll leave with:
- a toolkit to get through campus life's ups & downs, find peace, and manage stressful times,
- authentic, meaningful friendships,
- a joyful community ready to support you,
- a new experience of God's love for you.
Take stock of what’s working and what’s not working in your life today, discover hope in God’s love, and get ready to begin living in joy! If you are just beginning to explore your faith or are wondering how faith can fit into your college experience – this weekend is for you!
2024-2025 Retreats
Register Now for September Retreat
Going on a Catholic Illini Retreat changed the course of my college experience. Before the retreat, I was surrounded by people who made me feel insecure and anxious. On the retreat, I reconnected with old friends in the Catholic Illini community and made new friends too. I found a community that makes me feel rooted, good about myself, and safe. I can’t thank God enough for answering my prayers for faithful friends through the Catholic Illini retreat experience and family.
My Catholic Illini Retreat experience helped me finally find the community I had been searching for on campus. I entered my retreat weekend without knowing any of the other participants and I walked out with the most incredible friendships. The feeling of belonging among the Catholic Illini Retreat family is a true gift!
I started off college making friends that I regularly hung out with, but the friendships were shallow, lacked a strong root, and left me feeling dissatisfied. Then I went on a Catholic Illini retreat and met fellow students seeking Christ who truly desired to bring me with them. Through the community, I met even more students from different Catholic Illini retreats, continuing to find and build those authentic relationships I had been seeking. If you are looking for authentic friendships rooted in Christ in your life, then this is the retreat for you.
On a Catholic Illini Retreat, I deepened my faith through prayer, the sacraments, and the community. It gave me a new group of friends for the rest of my college experience that kept growing every retreat! I think everyone can benefit from the time spent exploring faith and new healthy friendships.
The community I found on my first retreat made such a drastic impact on my friendships during my freshman year of college. It's through the Catholic Illini Retreats that I've fallen more in love with Jesus and this community has inspired me to continue to grow in that relationship as I've gone throughout my college years. I often think back to my first experience as a participant, after now having served on teams and led a retreat as a Coordinator, and wonder what my faith in college would look like if I hadn't said yes to that initial invite.
During my first Catholic Illini Retreat, I was able to share my heart with a priest in confession about a struggle, and this brought freedom to my life. I didn't realize how powerful that confession was until later. I also started to grow in my relationship with God through prayer and service after I came back from the retreat. It's a must during your time at U of I!