Excerpt from Pope Pius XI's

apostolic letter, Meditantibus Nobis

given on December 3, 1922

...in the Retreat of Manresa, St. Ignatius
learned from the Mother of od herself
ho! he should fight the combats of "ur
#ord. It !as as from her hands that he
received this code so perfect, and in all
truth !e can so call it, of !hich ever$
soldier of %esus &hrist ought to ma'e use.
(e are spea'ing of the Spiritual
)*ercises, !hich according to tradition,
!ere given from +eaven to St. Ignatius.
,ot that !e should not esteem other
spiritual e*ercises, but that in those
organi-ed according to the Ignatian
method, ever$thing is disposed !ith such
!isdom, ever$thing is so !ell coordinated
that, if man does not oppose Divine
race, the$ rene! him completel$ and
render him full$ submitted to Divine
.uthorit$. ,ot that !e should not
esteem other spiritual e*ercises, but that
in those organi-ed according to the
Ignatian method, ever$thing is disposed
!ith such !isdom, ever$thing is so !ell
coordinated that, if man does not oppose
Divine race, the$ rene! him completel$
and render him full$ submitted to Divine
.uthorit$.

2014
Men's ) 5 Day
Jul 14-19
Sep 15-20
Oct 13-18 (Fr Albert OP, non-Ignatian Retreat

Women's 5 Day
Jun 16-21
Aug 18-23
Nov 10-15
Dec 15-20



During these few Days of Grace, each retreatant exercises
his intellect, memory and will, by meditating upon their
purpose and goal of life (which is to glorify God and save
their soul), and upon the mysteries of the life, death and
Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
While practicing these exercises, the retreatant will quickly
be convinced that he must first conquer himself so that
Christ may live in him, according to the words of St. Paul:
With Christ I am nailed to the Cross and I live, now not
I, but Christ liveth in me (Gal. 2 19-20).
An Ignatian Retreat consists of a series of spiritual
conferences, structured meditations and an opportunity to
make a general confession. Silence is kept throughout the
retreat, though the retreatants have the opportunity to speak
with a priest for spiritual advice.
So effective are retreats for the development and enrichment
of the spiritual life, that it is strongly recommended that
Catholics attend a retreat at least once a year.

Why attend a retreat? Some answers to
consider...
You have converted recently, and you thirst to learn more
about the Catholic Faith that is now at the center of your
life.
You want to learn how to live as a good Christian in this
corrupted world. Attend a 5-day Ignatian retreat: there you
will get the straight answers you seek.
Youre burdened with sin and dont know how to deal with
it. There is an answer for you: the Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius. There, you will find the strength and weapons for
victory.
Youve been a Catholic a long time, even your whole life.
Now you feel that your practice of religion is becoming
routine. At times, you even have doubts about the Catholic
Faith or Tradition. You really need to straighten out your
life before its too late: so attend a retreat soon!
Youre about to make important decisions that will affect
your career, the future of your family, or the education of
your children A retreat will give you the best opportunity
to make the right decision, putting everything in the right
place. Take time to think about such decisions during a good
retreat!
You want to become more fervent and improve your
spiritual life: you need the Spiritual Exercises. It is a proven
method, approved by the Church and recommended by
many saints.
But, I have no time! Actually this isnt true: if you really
want to come, you will find the time. This is a very serious
matter: the eternal salvation of your soul. If you review your
schedule, you will find a 5-day timeframe that can
work for you.
But, I am not very educated! That doesnt matter:
like the preaching of Our Lord, the Ignatian Exercises
can be grasped by all men.
Others may need a retreat, but I dont. Are you so
sure you will become a saint? Retreatants have fre-
quently told us afterwards that they had no idea how
much they needed their retreat.

Fr. Vallet and the Ignatian Exercises in 5 Days
When the Jesuits were re-established in 1814 after a
suppression of almost 100 years, Fr. Roothan, their first
superior general, labored greatly to re-establish the
Ignatian Retreat as the formative core and apostolic
weapon of the Jesuits. Nevertheless, the Industrial
Revolution presented a new slave master who de-
manded 12 to 18 hours of labor a day and in some
cases, a 7-day work week. Preaching the Retreats to the
modern man was no easy task in such economic condi-
tions.
Nevertheless, in Northern Spain, the country of St. Ig-
natius, God raised up a chosen apostle to condense the
30-days of St. Ignatius into a 5-day format that modern
men could realistically attend without losing the essen-
tial fruits of the 30-days.

In his trial he looked to God for the answer. Sensing
that the world was pulling him down, he felt the need
for prayer and separation from the world and so he
went to Manresa and made a 30-day Ignatian Retreat
under the Jesuit fathers. There, in solitary campaign,
wrestling with the sound argument of Divine Truth
proposed in spiritual exercises, he was completely and
dramatically converted. In the very first days of the
retreat, the essential answers to the primary questions
of life flooded his soul with lights that would guide him
for the rest of his life and would be the driving force
behind his gigantic future apostolate. In that retreat, to
use his own words:
I put myself to death, I was put to death. I no longer
recognized myself! I no longer recognized the world,
I believed it had been completely transformed for me!
It was a miracleDead, I lived now more intensely
than ever. I was free, master of myself I lived the
truth, hope, I lived in peace and I lived by love!
His entrance into the Jesuits followed this retreat. But
he didnt enter the Jesuits to follow a religious vocation
as an untried young man. He entered tested by trial,
Archbishop Marcel
Lefebvre
209 Tackora Trail
Ridgefield CT 06877
TEL: 203 431 0201
ST IGNTI!S RETRET "#!SE
converted by grace and pre-occupied with one great
idea: to convert the world and turn it back to Christ by
converting the adult man. The question and its resolu-
tion were clear: Convert the world by getting adult men
to do the Exercises and do them well.
He threw his whole soul into the novitiate and sought
ardently after perfection. The testimony of his saintly
Novice Master amply proves the purity and goodness
of his soul. But more striking than this is that the seri-
ous Jesuit fathers permitted the young Vallet to organ-
ize a campaign of retreats during his novitiate. Though
he couldnt preach, he was the driving organizing im-
petus behind a campaign of retreats that within a couple
years drew over 1800 men.
...his divinely inspired plan: the conversion of the adult
man through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. To
meet this objective, Fr. Vallet, with the permission and
approval of his beloved superiors, left the Jesuits to
found the Parish Cooperators of Christ the King. Parish
Cooperators devoted themselves entirely to the preach-
ing of the Ignatian Retreat.

Fr. Vallet had founded the Parish Coopera-
tors of Christ the King in 1922 and after his
death in 1947 his priestly collaborators car-
ried on his or!. "he !ey preacher at the
chief house of the Parish Cooperators in
France# as Fr. $udo%ic &arie 'arrielle.
(hen the changes of Vatican )) sept
through the Church de*anding aggiorna-
mento and change at e%ery le%el# Fr. 'ar-
rielle held fir*. Fr. Vallet had been clear+
nothing *ust be changed or else all the
fruit ould be lost. "hough Fr. 'arrielle
hi*self held fir*# the or! of the Parish
Cooperators gradually died out. ,earing of
the or! of -rchbishop $efeb%re in the 7.s#
Fr. 'arrielle %olunteered his ser%ices and
the -rchbishop# in need of e/perienced
priests# accepted.

Moving to the Societys chief seminary in Econe, Swit-
zerland, Fr. Barrielle filled perfectly the office of spiri-
tual director. His role was that of the much needed
wiser, more experienced and older priest who helped
prepare the young seminarians for the difficult task of
the priesthood in the modern world. He counseled, en-
couraged, and taught them the principles of St. Igna-
tius. Most importantly, he gave them the 5-day Spiri-
tual Exercises after the divinely inspired pattern given
him by Fr. Vallet.
Occasionally, when a veteran retreatant would call up
for Fr. Barrielle to organize a retreat, Fr. Barrielle
would bring along a seminarian and teach him the
"ropes." Besides this practical knowledge, in response
to the perennial question of the seminarian: "How will I
go about the work of saving souls in this world?", he
wrote two books: Letter to the Priests of Tomorrow, #1
and Letter to the Priests of Tomorrow, #2. In these
books Fr. Barrielle laid down precise instructions for
the preaching of the 5-day retreats.
When Fr. Barrielle died in 1983, he had firmly planted
the Ignatian Exercises in the Society of St. Pius X
which at that time numbered a little over 100 priests.
Those priests in turn became the "veterans" and "old-
timers" who continue to teach the new recruits the
method and efficacy of the Spiritual Exercises. As a
general rule, every deacon of the Society of St. Pius X
is required to preach an Ignatian Retreat to ensure his
facility in this form of Apostolate before he is dis-
patched to his mission as a priest.
To this day, the 5-day retreats are the workhorse of the
Society of St. Pius X in terms of obtaining profound
conversions and dedicated soldiers of Jesus Christ. A
tradition begun in the Church with Saint Ignatius,
adapted to the modern world by Fr. Vallet, handed
down to the Society of St. Pius X by Fr. Barrielle, the
retreats are still available to souls who possess a desire
to save their souls and to do something more for Christ.

Pius XI Mens Nosrta
17. )t re*ains# Venerable 'rethren# in order
to guard and preser%e the fruit of the
01piritual 2/ercises0 hich e ha%e been
praising and to re%i%e its salutary *e*ory
that e should earnestly reco**end a pi-
ous custo* hich *ay be called a brief
repetition of the 02/ercises0 na*ely a
*onthly or tri*estrial recollection. "his cus-
to* hich# to borro the ords of 3ur
Predecessor of holy *e*ory# Pius 4# "We
gladly see introduced in many places"
4.

and flourishing especially in religious co*-
*unities and a*ong pious priests of the
secular clergy we earnestly desire to see
adopted by the laity also ...
Spiritual Retreats
given at the SSPX retreat
center in 5idgefield C"
For the year
3f 3ur $ord
2014