Madonna Della Strada Retreat Center
SLUH is blessed with a second campus dedicated to the formation of faith-filled, spiritually grounded Men for Others.
The Madonna Della Strada Retreat Center, located north of Troy in beautiful Silex, Mo., rests on 88 sprawling acres. It features a main facility, a freestanding chapel, an activities center, multiple small group meeting areas, a Spirit Walk nature trail, Stations of the Cross and more.
Retreat Center Features
- Main Facility: Large bunk rooms can accommodate up to 40 students, and 6 bedrooms can host up to 12 adults | Full kitchen | Large dining area | Large gathering space | Private reading area | 3 breakout rooms
- Freestanding Chapel
- Dedicated Recreation Center: Ping pong and various sports equipment and balls for recreation | Basketball court
- Outdoors: Meditation Trail | Stations of the Cross | 4 outdoor devotional spaces dedicated to the Blessed Mother | Firepit with seating | Recreation field | Lots of green space | Small pond for fishing and relaxing | Volleyball space | Single hole Par 3 to practice your golf game | Great opportunities for outdoor education with Missouri hardwood forest and pasture biomes
Madonna Della Strada, patroness of the Society of Jesus, means "Our Lady of the Way" in Italian and is the name of an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined at the Church of the Gesu in Rome (pictured above). St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was protected by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary during battle in his service as a soldier.
SLUH gratefully acknowledges the generosity of Mary Anne and Anthony Sansone, Sr., who donated the land and property at the Madonna Della Strada Retreat Center in 2018. The Sansones are the parents and grandparents of several Jr. Billikens. With the addition of the Madonna Della Strada Retreat Center, SLUH is just the third multi-campus Jesuit high school in the U.S.
The retreat center chapel, named for Saint Therese the Little Flower and dedicated in honor of Fr. Michael “Marco” Marchlewski, SJ '54, provides a reverent space for Mass and prayer services.