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.
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.