Notre dame lgbtq retreat
To That Lovely Lady
“To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. … The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness.” – Fulton Sheen
What accomplish you first think of when you hear the words, “Notre Dame?” Most Americans probably envision scenes of football—gold helmets, Rudy, and the greatest defend song of all hour. But how many consider of Our Lady, the true meaning of “Notre Dame”?
Though images of Mary are not lacking on campus—our golden dome bears a 16-foot statue of her—that abundance does not conceal the sad truth: Notre Dame has abandoned her namesake, and with it, her female students in particular.
As a Catholic university named after the Mother of God, Notre Dame holds a exceptional obligation to her female students, one that it struggles to fulfill. In an age dominated by resentment between the sexes, bitter arguments about “reproductive rights,” and rampant confusion in youth who have faith gender is a decision, female students at universities are often given the wrong resources to adopt their femininity and womanhood. Unfortunately, Notre Dame is no exception.
In recent years, pro
LGBTQ Retreats
Each year, Campus Ministry, in collaboration with the Gender Relations Center (GRC), hosts a retreat for LGBTQ students and Allies who identify as people of faith. We take period to reflect on our spiritual lives and our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. Coming from the Catholic tradition, we explore what it means to be beloved children of God and members of a global family. As members of that global family we seize time to look to Jesus as an example of how to be in deeper solidarity with those on the margins.
This retreat is open to all those seeking to integrate their spirituality with their LGBTQ Identity and their allies.
LGBTQ Winter Retreat 2025: Nourish!
Join us for our annual winter retreat: Nourish! We will amass together as a society to nourish our relationships with God, one another, and ourselves. It’s a great way to re-center and start the spring semester!
When is the retreat?
The weekend of February 7-9, 2025. We will leave at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and restore by 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Who can attend?
This retreat is open to all Notre Dame, Spiritual Cross College, or Saint Mary's LGBTQ students, and allies.
Registration:
The
LGBT activist leads retreat at Notre Dame de Namur
From February 18 – 21, 2014 Notre Dame de Namur Tall School in Belmont, California presented a student retreat, Personal Growth as a Blessing to Others. The event was described on the school’s webpage: “Come join us on a four-day retreat to learn fresh ways to spot who you are and how expressing yourself fully can be a blessing to others! Develop your self image and get in touch with who you are through journaling, meditations, world walks, art projects and more.” Notre Dame’s webpage for the retreat continued “Surprise guest facilitator for one morning – Gregg Cassin!!!” Gregg Cassin, who lives in San Francisco, is a widely known homosexualist activist. His extensive website includes this self-description: “He is an LGBT rights activist helping to organize and emcee anti-Prop 8 rallies since 2008.”
Two members of the Notre Dame Faculty were listed as instructors for the retreat, one of whom was a Ms. Sequeira. Notre Dame’s religious studies webpage identifies Barbara Sequeira as the school’s campus minister.
Mr. Cassin’s website contains a section of photographs of events in which he has taken part. The section is hea
Retreats & Spirituality
Mission and Ministry offers retreat opportunities for campus groups throughout the year including retreats for Emmanuel College athletic teams, student organizations, faculty and staff groups. Here is a list of our current offerings:
1. Each fall semester, first-year and transfer students are invited to spend a weekend on Cape Cod participating in Take48, a 48- hour retreat away from campus in which we reflect on three questions relating to the transition to college, being a new member of the Emmanuel College community, and building new friendships.
2. Mission and Ministry supports Emmanuel’s LGBTQIA+ community by co-sponsoring Reaching OUT, an off-campus weekend retreat helping students develop community rooted in love for self, as well as awareness of God’s deep love for each of us.
3. An outdoor retreat encouraging students to get off campus and into nature, the Wilderness Walk retreat is held in the drop semester. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to spend a day hiking in the mountains of New Hampshire followed by an evening of reflection.
4. Faculty & Staff Retreat is a yearly retreat held in January prior to the begi
“I learned that as deep as a wound is, that’s how deep the healing can be.”
Mary Karr, 2015 Syracuse University Commencement Address
I recently had the privilege to speak with students on the Notre Dame LGBTQ retreat, and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my own period as a male lover student in college. When I come back to campus, I can often view other graduates basking in a shimmer around the edges, the Catholic glamour of the Basilica, the warmth of the grotto, and the roar of the Stadium. Friends fondly recall adv nights in LaFortune and flood their former dorms with nostalgia. For many, Notre Dame is and was a dream come true.
I wish I could see it. I want to be just a normal college graduate, who looks back on those days and wishes to relive them. But I can’t. And I’m don’t.
I recently spoke with a fellow alumnus. He said he felt muddled for a period about what Notre Dame meant to him. Like me, he was supposed to be one version of the model graduate, a well-rounded student who went on to an exciting career. But as he came to finer understand himself after graduation, he discovered something buried that surprised him. Within himself, he said, he bore a confu