Come and draw from the well

Spiritual center operated by the religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We welcome you

All the year round, the Centre welcomes anyone who wishes to make a retreat. These retreats are for everyone, young and not so young, whether you’re on your own, in a couple or in a group, lay people, religious men and women, priests…

The retreat is a time of stepping aside in an atmosphere of prayer and silence. It places us in the light of Christ and can have a specific aim:

  • To learn or learn again to pray
  • To deepen your relationship with God
  • To stand back a little from everyday life
  • To take a new look at your life and bring it all together
  • To take an important decision, make a free choice
  • To renew your strength at a difficult time

At the Sophie Barat Centre, several kinds of retreat are offered:

  • Retreats of initiation into the Spiritual Exercises: 5 days just to let God look at you through guided prayer, sharing, and personal companioning.
  • Individual retreats: 5, 8, 10 or 30 days “à la carte” to deepen your relationship to God, all at your own pace, restock your resources or make a decision in faith, using a personalised programme.

Having 2 days allows you to follow the same programme as the one offered for a single day, but taking time to make your own the different aspects of Sophie’s life you have discovered.

After a thorough tour of the house, you will be able to continue your “pilgrimage” by going to pray at St Thibault’s (the Church where Sophie was baptized), to experience a “contemplative walk” among the vines (Sophie often quoted the Gospel of the vine and the branches), discover the banks of the Yonne (she left for Paris from there), pray in her room, contemplate a beautiful sampler she embroidered, which already gives hints of the spirituality of the Sacred Heart….

As in the one-day spiritual breaks, you can opt for:
• A free spiritual break: you then have plenty of time to enjoy the house and its surroundings in any way you like. If you wish, you may ask to meet a sister of the community, for companioning, or simply to talk.
• A guided spiritual break: based on the spirituality of the Sacred Heart, the vineyards and St John’s Gospel… or some other theme chosen in accordance with the liturgical season. If you wish you may receive guidance for your prayer and have a spiritual companion.

If you choose a self-directed spiritual break, you have plenty of time to enjoy the house and its surroundings in whatever way you like. If you wish, you may ask to meet a sister of the community for companioning, or simply to talk.
If you prefer a guided spiritual break, several themes are offered according to the liturgical season. But at any time of year, you may come for contemplation based on the spirituality of the Sacred Heart, the vineyards and John’s Gospel…If you wish, you can be given guidelines for your personal prayer, and may be offered spiritual companioning.
In both cases, you will be able to share morning prayer with the community.

All the year round, the Centre welcomes anyone who wishes to make a retreat. These retreats are for everyone, young and not so young, whether you’re on your own, in a couple or in a group, lay people, religious men and women, priests…
The retreat is a time of stepping aside in an atmosphere of prayer and silence. It places us in the light of Christ and can have a specific aim:
• To learn or learn again to pray
• To deepen your relationship with God
• To stand back a little from everyday life
• To take a new look at your life and bring it all together
• To take an important decision, make a free choice
• To renew your strength at a difficult time

Do you want to take time to grow in friendship with Sophie Barat, or perhaps to have a special encounter with God, as she herself had in this house?
For the “pilgrims”, 3 days is the ideal length of time to follow a complete itinerary in Sophie’s footsteps, visiting the house, just letting yourself be under God’s gaze, following suggestions for prayer, making a review of your life by letting Sophie’s life challenge you, resting and visiting the town…
You could enrich your “pilgrimage” by going to pray at St Thibault’s (the church where Sophie was baptized), taking a “contemplative walk” through the vines (Sophie often quoted the Gospel of the vine), discovering the banks of the Yonne (she left for Paris from there), praying in her room, contemplating the beautiful sampler she embroidered; it hints already at the spirituality of the Sacred Heart…
3 days will give you time to take a deeper look at what the spirituality of the Sacred Heart meant for Sophie, by discovering the root from which it all grew: those first 15 years of her life in Joigny.

Welcome to the house where she was born!
For one day, your programme will vary according to the season and to your expectations.
The sisters of the community will be delighted to show you round the house. Seeing these places, and spending time in them, gives you greater familiarity with Sophie.
According to the time at your disposal, you may also pray in her room, or contemplate her beautiful embroidery, which already suggests the spirituality of the Sacred Heart. You may discover, too, the vineyards where she helped with the grape-harvest, or you could pay a visit to the town.

We’re used to welcoming groups from everywhere in the world, in union with the “Sacred Heart family” (students from our schools, alumnae and alumni of the Sacred Heart, those in leading positions in our schools …).

A few days are enough to follow a complete itinerary in Sophie’s footsteps. If you wish, we can also prepare talks about the spirituality of the Sacred Heart, teaching methods, the history of the Society… If that’s what you would like, the best thing is to contact the Centre’s team in advance.

We can also organise tailor-made spiritual direction for your group:

  • A time of retreat (in French, English or Spanish)
  • A time of meditation and teaching around a Gospel passage
  • A time to renew your life and your individual commitment to your team in the light of the Gospel and with the help of the Ignatian teaching method

According to your needs, we can also simply put at your disposal the Centre (meeting rooms, sleeping accommodation, the catering service), while inviting you, if you wish, to join in the community prayer.