Center for Ignatian Identity & Formation
Discovering God in All Things – A Journey of Faith and Growth
At BC High, we believe that the journey to find God is as unique as each individual. Regardless of your faith background, here, you’ll embark on a path of self-discovery, building a deeper connection with God and understanding your spiritual identity. Through a blend of retreats, service to others, and co-curricular activities, you’ll grow in your faith and enrich your life in meaningful ways.
Our Jesuit, Catholic heritage guides students in forming a rich, well-rounded spiritual life. We offer a supportive environment where students from all walks of life can deepen their connection with God, develop their sense of purpose, and learn to live with greater compassion for others.
My Kairos experience transformed the way that I fathom God in all things. After retreating to the Cape - experiencing the calm beach, the intimate cohort, and more remarkably the Kairos talk - I discover a new dimension of love that I can only explain as God’s grace.”
Retreats: A Time for Reflection, Connection, and Transformation
At BC High, we believe that retreat is more than just “time away”—it’s “time inward.” Our retreats provide you with an invaluable opportunity to pause, reflect, and renew. Whether you’re hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, spending three days on Cape Cod in spiritual reflection, or exploring the city’s diverse culinary scene, our retreats are designed to challenge and inspire you.
Through these experiences, you’ll not only grow closer to your faith, but also discover a renewed sense of purpose, clarity, and commitment to service. Many students leave these retreats with a deeper relationship with God, a heightened focus on their spiritual growth, and a renewed desire to serve others in the pursuit of justice for all.
Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, Catholic or from another faith tradition, BC High retreats offer a transformative opportunity to connect with others, understand your faith, and grow into the person you’re meant to be.
A Retreat for Every Student, A Journey for Every Faith
At BC High, each retreat offers something unique—whether it’s personal growth, spiritual renewal, or a stronger connection with the community around you. Whatever your path, you’ll emerge with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of your role in God’s plan.
Join us in this journey of spiritual discovery and see how the Ignatian tradition can transform the way you see yourself, your faith, and the world.
Junior and Senior Year Retreat Opportunities
During Junior and Senior year, our students are provided the opportunity to choose their own retreat experience.
The Kairos Retreat is a unique experience at BC High, and its true power is in the mystery of what’s to come. “Kairos,” meaning “significant moment” in Greek, invites you to define your own relationship with God and explore your spiritual path in a deeply personal way.
Alongside classmates, faculty, and staff, you’ll engage in a series of thought-provoking activities and reflective exercises designed to help you examine your beliefs, relationships, and values. For many students, Kairos is a pivotal moment in their BC High experience, leading to a stronger sense of self, a deepened faith, and a profound sense of belonging within the BC High community.
It is easy to get lost and be overwhelmed by the business and constant noise in our lives. This retreat takes place at the beautiful Toah Nipi Retreat Center in Rindge, NH. It creates time and space for students to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with their own voice, thoughts, feelings, beliefs and faith. Guided by the campus ministers, students will have periods of time to be on their own to rest, re-center, reflect and pray.
In the Gospels, Jesus teaches us the value of food and table fellowship. During this retreat, we will consider the role of food in our family celebrations, traditions, cultures, identities, and relationships. We will slow down, cook some meals, enjoy some meals and let the food and time nourish our bodies, our souls, and bring us closer to each other and to God. We will also serve those who are hungry and consider food insecurity.
Over the course of 4 weeks, we’ll join 4 different churches representing the three Abrahamic faiths where we’ll attend worship services with the communities and then afterwards, over a meal, talk about the experience, style of worship, the spirit of the community, etc. We’ll visit Temple Israel, Jubilee Christian Church, St. Cecelia’s Catholic Church, South End and ISBCC Mosque.
This retreat is for adventurous students who want to experience nature in all its beauty and challenges. You’ll spend your days hiking New Hampshire’s high-elevation White Mountain trails; praying; enjoying the silence; and getting to know your fellow explorers.
Does God look different through a camera’s lens? The Photography Retreat will walk through the book “God is at Eye Level: Photography as a Healing Art” by Jan Phillips, discuss recurring themes in religion and photography, and offer the opportunity to try your hand at taking and developing your own images, too.
See how God is revealed in art as you attend museums, exhibitions, concerts, and plays throughout Greater Boston.
This pilgrimage retreat is designed to touch upon many elements of Ignatian spirituality, particularly pilgrimage and encountering the lives of people who greatly impacted our world in sacred ways. St. Ignatius always referred to himself as “the pilgrim;” it was an existential state he sought to constantly inhabit. We will visit different “cathedrals” like St. Patrick’s, the 9/11 Memorial, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker house, and more!
Outreach Projects
Outreach is a way to walk with our students and build kinship with those on the margins. These projects allow us to witness our students’ growth and engagement with our mission, as well as further develop our connection between our work and those marginalized.
Citizenship classes whereby students and community members work with local immigrant students to prepare them for their USCIS citizenship interviews. We teach both civics and ESL. This project is done in partnership with St. Marks Community Education Program.
Our partnership with a local nonprofit that offers classes in ESL to local immigrants. Our students serve as tutors.
Our outreach program to those who are unhoused and living in the Downtown Crossing/Boston Common areas of the city.
In 2013, four BC High seniors launched the St. Louis Project, named for the French saint known for bringing food from his castle to share with the poor. As part of this ongoing project, students and faculty gather weekly to prepare care packages. They then travel by the T to Downtown Crossing, where they share these packages and a cup of hot chocolate with local Bostonians struggling with homelessness, hunger, and poverty while engaging them in conversation. The group then comes together for reflection and prayer in the Common before taking the T back to school.
Students who participate in the project quickly learn that this is about more than just food. It’s about developing a deep compassion for individuals from different economic backgrounds, and learning to advocate for them in a way that’s authentic and understanding.
Our community collects children’s books and installs libraries in laundromats to provide books to young children in homes without books. Started by Cameron Dunn ’24
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