March News
No Snoozing before Lent
Dear Friends in Christ our King,
As we open the month of March with Quinquagesima Sunday tomorrow, we realize that Ash Wednesday, and thus Lent, is only a small step away.
Just as a loving mother wakes her child early to ensure he is ready for school on time, Holy Mother Church gives us the season of Septuagesima to prepare for Lent. She knows that we, her children, are often sluggish and resistant to the sacrifices required for spiritual growth. If we neglect this time of preparation, we risk entering Lent unprepared, with hardened hearts that cannot fully receive the grace God wants to give us.
A key obstacle to this preparation is the vice of sloth—not just physical laziness, but a spiritual sluggishness that resists making efforts for God. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that sloth is opposed to charity because it makes a person sorrowful about spiritual good. To overcome it, we must increase our love for God through knowing Him, by means such as spiritual reading and meditating on the Four Last Things.
And so, like our mothers in the morning, Holy Mother Church is calling us now to wake up and get ready for Lent. There is no snoozing during this last stretch in this season of Septuagesima! We should begin each day with a prayer to Mary, our spiritual mother, asking for her guidance and strength to prepare well.
Now is the time for an examination of conscience. Now is the time to make our spiritual strategy for Lent. We have to get out of bed now. We have to be ready and wide awake come Ash Wednesday, so that we will be able to cultivate those spiritual seeds during Lent.
And after the work of Lent, on Easter Sunday, we will have much spiritual fruit, a foretaste of the eternal joy which we will harvest in Heaven.
Yours faithfully in Christ our Infant King,
Rev. Canon Matthew Talarico
U.S. Provincial Superior
Ordinations Pilgrimage to Gricigliano
June 28 - July 5, 2025
Join family and friends of the seminarians of the Institute of Christ the King in celebrating their elevation to the sacred priesthood, diaconate and subdiaconate, minor orders and tonsure, at the Institute’s Baroque church in Florence! See the many treasures of Florence and take excursions to medieval Lucca and the Seminary in the Tuscan hills!
For more information, click the link below.
Updates at
Sacred Heart Retreat Center
The scenery has changed! Soon we will be in the 5th month of construction. Work continues to progress on all floors and outside, even with the cold temperatures we have been enduring.
Key Construction Updates Include:
- Berghammer installed wood blocking for the new windows and bathroom accessories.
- Third floor 1930s windows installed with second floor started in the back half of the 1930s building heading towards the 1950s addition. New windows are complete in the 1950s addition on first and third floors.
- First floor 1930’s wing. Berghammer opened the Refectory walls and ceilings for plumbing work and will be closing soon.
- First floor 1950’s wing. Berghammer poured new concrete floors previously sawcut and the new drywall grid ceiling framing is in.
- First floor 1950’s wing. The plumber completed underground piping.
- Second floor 1930’s wing. Electrician and plumber miscellaneous rough-in continues.
- Second floor 1950’s wing. Berghammer roughed in the new drywall ceiling framing and the overhead electrical, plumbing and HVAC with ceilings closed up.
- Third floor 1950s wing. Steel studs installed, and the electrician, plumber and HVAC contractors have rouged in their respective areas.
- Abatement and selective demolition is complete.
Key Administration Updates Include:
- OnFire Media. Selected to design a new modern user-friendly, and easy-to manage website to serve as a gateway for our guests to experience the mission of the Retreat Center.
- Stellar Web Systems. Selected for a new Registrations application, including a comprehensive suite of administrative tools, to manage finances track donations, organize events, communicate with members and any other applicable features, and much more. that will help us streamline our operations and focus on what really matters: serving our mission.
- Fearing’s Audio/Video. Selected to provide media and audio for the Lecture Hall and Conference Rooms.
We look forward to updating the continued progress, hopefully in warmer times ahead! Remember to also check out the playlist to see new update videos coming out.
Help us restore Sacred Heart Retreat Center! To learn about the exciting new plans for 2025, including new drawings of what parts of the interior will look like soon, check out the letter below!
To learn more about the Sacred Heart Retreat Center, click the link below.
2025 Summer Camps at
Sacred Heart Retreat Center
Save the dates! There will be four camps for the youth this summer taking place at Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Burlington, Wisconsin:
- Saint Therese Camp for Girls (July 7-11)
- Immaculate Conception Camp for Young Ladies (July 13-19)
- Saint Dominic Camp for Boys (July 21-25)
- Saint Michael Camp for Young Men (July 27-August 2)
For all information, including registration registration links and frequently asked questions, click the link below.
Read the testimony from the parents of one of the participants last year:
"My son was nervous about attending, but he met a boy his age, and they have since become pen pals. We encouraged them to write handwritten letters instead of emails, and they’ve been exchanging letters ever since. Their letters are filled with faith, prayers for each other, and conversations about sports, God, and family. My son loves receiving these letters. The same is true for my daughter—it has been an incredible experience for both of them."
Volunteers Needed!
Interested in helping out at summer camps in Wisconsin? We need all the helpers we can get!
Those interested who are at least 18 years old can follow the link below to apply. The deadline to apply is May 1.
May God reward you for your generosity!
2025 Sursum Corda Retreat
This year's Sursum Corda Annual Young Adult Retreat will take place from June 6 to 9 at the Colombiere Conference and Retreat Center in Michigan. Come and join young adults from all over the country in a time of prayer and fun!
Listen to the experience shared to us by Jude, a participant:
"The Sursum Corda Retreat was an amazing opportunity not only to experience Mass, Adoration, and enriching talks from the Canons, but also to meet members of other Institute Churches across the country. The experience at the retreat helped me to appreciate that we are members of a larger Institute family. I also enjoyed playing ultimate Frisbee, basketball and soccer in the amazing outdoor space. The annual Sunday evening talent show is also a can't miss event!"
Please note the special early bird pricing if you sign up before April 1! Register by clicking the link below.
A Word from the Sister Adorers
Annual Chapter Meeting
and Retreat
In early February, all of the professed sister Adorers gathered together in their house in France, near Paris, for an annual chapter meeting, renewal of vows, and a week of spiritual retreat. The chapter meeting is a time of familial joy in which the sisters can come together after many months apart and deepen the spirit of their vocation under conferences given by Monsignor Wach, Monsignor Schmitz, and our Reverend Mother.
The following week of spiritual retreat, preached by one of the canons from the seminary, nourishes, sustains, and rejuvenates the sisters before they return to their respective apostolates. Deo gratias!
Good Servants. Good Stewards. Good Friends.
Reaching Out to Souls
Shrine of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Cleveland, Ohio
Donate securely online. Set up an easy recurring gift.
Contact us with any questions: 773-363-7409 x13
Contact us with any questions: 773-363-7409 x13
A special request to our many online donors: The fee that the Institute pays for electronic fund transfers is far lower than that for credit card transactions. Please consider making your online gifts from your checking or savings account. Thank you!
Please remember the "Institute of Christ the King" in your will!
Little Flower
Recurring Gift Society
All of our benefactors who make a recurring gift of any dollar amount are enrolled in the Little Flower Recurring Gift Society.
Members have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for them and are prayed for especially during the Perpetual Novena in honor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus offered at our U.S. Provincial Headquarters.
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Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
U.S. Provincial Headquarters
6415 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637
773-363-7409
6415 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637
773-363-7409