Resting on a quiet, scenic bluff overlooking Buffalo Lake, Christ the King Retreat Center provides a sacred setting for meditation and prayer.
“It’s a special place that has a peaceful aura from the moment you first enter — a mental and spiritual oasis,” said Tom Kraus, 52, describing the retreat center, also known as King’s House, which was established in 1952 in Buffalo.
Kraus, a parishioner of St. Peter in Mendota who lives in Mendota Heights with his wife, Paula, and their four children, was invited by a friend to a King’s House men’s retreat in January 2006.
“Paula and I had just had our first child a few months prior, and I was just starting a business, so my initial response was to decline his invitation,” Kraus said.
“But I had attended other retreats by that point in my life and knew how valuable they could be,” he said. “So, with Paula’s support, I decided I would invest in the weekend.”
That retreat became the first of 16 Kraus has attended at King’s House, always in January. “The retreat helps me set my focus for the year and strengthens my relationship with God in preparation for the road ahead,” he said. “The silence at King’s House is particularly precious because our lives are so filled with noise, both literal and figurative.”
King’s House — a chapel, two conference rooms, two dining rooms and 70 double occupancy rooms with private bathrooms — sits on 5 acres. It was a private home purchased for retreats by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1951; the Oblates further developed the house in several phases. Legend has it the area was occupied by Native Americans who called it “Dabinawa,” meaning a sheltered, quiet place.
A ministry of the religious order, King’s House offers 30 three-day silent retreats each year with a common theme. “This year’s theme is ‘A Listening Heart,’” said Father Richard Sudlik, 75, director of King’s House who leads the preaching team of two Oblate priests, one Oblate brother and a Franciscan sister.
Father Sudlik noted that non-Catholics are welcome and often present. “We feel that retreat centers are places of refuge and silence for the ‘spiritually serious,’ that they might be a leaven in our world,” he said. “In our Oblate tradition, retreat houses have been seen as privileged places of evangelization.”
Besides its own retreats, King’s House sponsors a series of retreats offered by a variety of presenters. “We also host many nonprofit groups of different faiths and interests, from Lutheran pastors to groups of quilters and clowns,” Father Sudlik said.
Susan Stabile, 63, a trained spiritual retreat director, leads weekend and one-day retreats at King’s House, including last December’s “The Joyful Announcements of Advent” and an upcoming March retreat for mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters and friends called “The Friendship of Women.”
Stabile, a distinguished senior fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis and adjunct instructor in theology at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, said King’s House, with its extraordinary surroundings, offers the perfect setting for spending time with God.
“There’s nothing like that extended time, looking out on that lovely lake, to deepen your relationship with God and with Christ,” Stabile said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, King’s House closed March 17, 2020, reopening the second week of June. “We have been coming back to life,” Father Sudlik said.
“Our numbers are smaller and we follow the guidelines of the state of Minnesota and Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, mandating masks and social distancing,” he said. “We have also entered into the wonderful world of Zoom for both all-virtual and hybrid retreats, with participants at King’s House as well as people viewing from their homes.”
Phyllis Laing, 80, a retired teacher from Maple Grove and parishioner of St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center, is pleased that King’s House is back open. “That’s my home away from home,” Laing said, adding that she has gone to 73 retreats there.
“‘The Joy of the Gospel,’ ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers,’ ‘Sowing Seeds of Mercy’ — every time I go, there’s something that God wants me to hear,” Laing said.
“I live alone so I have a lot of time by myself, but I need to be someplace in the presence of God,” she said. “When you first arrive at King’s House, bringing all your ‘stuff’ that you want to get rid of, the lake water is churning little white caps. I notice by the time I leave, that water has almost always calmed down and is gently lapping. I like to think that’s the graces God is giving you.”
For Paula Kraus, 51, Buffalo Lake is a favorite aspect of King’s House as well. She started going to King’s House retreats in 2014 after her husband and father attended retreats there.
“Personally, I love when retreatants have free time to be in our rooms, overlooking the lake; this has led to my greatest prayer time,” she said.
“My dad started going to King’s House in the early 1970s and at some point, he stopped,” Kraus said. “But the January before he passed away, he attended the retreat with my husband, Tom. I know Dad had a big thing weighing on him before he went, and he was so grateful to have gone, not knowing that a few months later, he would have a stroke that would take his life.”
“It’s very special to our family that Tom encouraged my dad to go that year and also my brother Dan; that was the start of Dan’s annual King’s House retreat as well,” she said.
LOCAL RETREAT CENTERS
In addition to Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, the Official 2020 Minnesota Catholic Directory lists five other retreat centers in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Contact the centers directly for retreat availability. Some are currently closed due to COVID-19.
Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery
2675 Benet Road, St. Paul
A ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, the Benedictine Center offers a variety of retreats, prayer opportunities and spiritual direction.
Carondelet Center
1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul
A ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Consociates, the Carondelet Center is a host facility for retreats and conferences with up to 200 guests.
Dunrovin Christian Brothers Retreat Center
15525 St. Croix Trail N., Marine on St. Croix
A ministry of the Christian Brothers in the national park of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Dunrovin provides a quiet space for retreats, meetings, conferences, Catholic youth camps and team building events.
Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center
16385 St. Francis Ln., Prior Lake
A ministry of the Conventual Franciscans, Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center offers retreats for men, women and married couples and days of prayer. The 2021 retreat theme is “Fear Not: I Am With You Always.”
Jesuit Retreat House
8243 Demontreville Tr. N., Lake Elmo
A Jesuit ministry, the Jesuit Retreat House, also known as Demontreville, offers retreats for men based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola.
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