Last week, Cardinal Newman’s entire junior class was invited to, and attended, a retreat hosted by St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. They were joined by students from John Carroll High School, another Catholic highschool located in Fort Pierce. After a delicious breakfast hosted in the cafeteria, they loaded up onto buses before going off to have their special day dedicated to growing with God. While at the seminary, the students had the opportunity to connect with the students with the same faith from John Carroll. They were able to not only build relationships with their peers but they also built a stronger relationship with God. While at the campus they were given a tour, where they learned about church vocations and prayer, celebrated mass, enjoyed outdoor recreation, and were even given delicious pizza for lunch! A retreat is a nice relaxing time where you can let go, disconnect from your crazy life, connect with God, and not worry about school or any other issues causing stress in your life. By being given the opportunity to attend this particular retreat and hearing the vocations of the individuals that reside at the seminary or in service to Christ, many students could have been influenced and encouraged to join the seminary. Everyone had their own touching story and vocation. It was very interesting to see how similar a seminary is to a regular college. By experiencing this retreat, students saw how a seminarian’s life is normal to any other college students and it may encourage them to want to pursue that lifestyle. Even if you feel you aren’t called by God to serve Him as a seminarian, you are still guaranteed to learn something or be touched by some of the individual stories people share about their path with God. Overall, the retreat was a huge success in learning about seminary life and connecting to God.