Holy Spirit held their annual confirmation retreat No. 22-24 at Alpine Camp in California. Bishop Gorman students who went on this retreat had the opportunity to gain more insight on their sacrament with fun activities along with more traditional practices in both small groups and large gatherings.

The director of the youth ministry, Louie Latina, along with other Core Team members helped in hosting the annual retreat for teens in their second year of the process towards confirmation.  

“There are definitely a few lessons I would expect for teens to take from this retreat… to understand that there are people there for you…just know that there’s always a [place] to share that faith with other people [they can rely on].” Ben Urso ‘25 said.

The three day trip educated them as an outside opportunity on their spiritual journey by taking them out of their comfort zone to engage in memorable activities and to disconnect from the outside world, assisting them in taking the next step of their spiritual journey.

“The retreat helped me spiritually by giving me an opportunity to disconnect and be with God,” Lauren Smith ‘27 said. “I was able to put away the distractions of school and technology to focus on my relationship with [him].”

Each student has their own mindset revolving around the retreat as it is a new experience. After the occasion, those expectations might’ve been altered or transitioned into something new entirely.

“Initially, I thought this would be boring…but when we started singing and dancing, I saw God through these actions,” Seth Basilio ‘27 said. “…At first, I thought the small groups would be quiet, but instead we are all connected in God and we all understood each other.”