On Oct. 4, the feast day honoring the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the former St. Francis Retreat House reopened as the St. Francis Spirituality and Retreat Center of Easton.
In its Chapel of St. Francis, Bishop Alfred Schlert celebrated a Mass of Blessing and Renewal in thanksgiving for the Center’s restoration as “sacred ground.” Standing in front of an exquisite mosaic depicting St. Francis receiving the stigmata, the Bishop shared a reflection on the day’s Gospel reading, the Parable of the Vineyard.
“Today, this piece of the vineyard here on Chipman Road comes to life and starts to be tilled again,” he said. “It just goes to show that, with God, something may lie fallow for a while, but this vineyard now comes back to life.
“Many of us have a legacy here, but there are some whose legacy is yet to be built here. Because the vineyard remains fertile, it remains a place where God will work, and His fruit will come to bear.”
Bishop Schlert said that he discerned his call to the Priesthood at what was then the St. Francis Retreat House.
“Since I was in Notre Dame High School, we came here every year for retreat,” he said. “I’m grateful to the Franciscan fathers and brothers who had a presence here at the retreat house, or as most of us in the Easton area called it, the Friary.”
Bishop Schlert pointed out that the chapel’s Tabernacle was “open, empty, as it has been since the Franciscans left.”
The Franciscans were forced to shutter the doors of the Friary in 2024 due to high operating costs and dwindling attendance. After the closure, the property was acquired by the Msgr. Robert J. Coll Foundation, an organization named for a beloved priest who had served the Diocese of Allentown for more than 60 years.
Msgr. Coll is best known as the founder of Operation Rice Bowl, a grassroots project that grew into the national Catholic Relief Service’s Rice Bowl initiative. The goal of the Foundation is to ensure that future visitors to the St. Francis Spirituality and Retreat Center will benefit from the Franciscan legacy of faith, hospitality, and renewal.
With the opening of the Retreat Center, the property is, said Bishop Schlert, “once again sacred ground.”
During the Mass of Blessing and Renewal, the Blessed Sacrament was again placed in the Tabernacle, and after the final blessing, the red sanctuary lamp was lit before the other candles were extinguished “to show that the King of the Universe dwells under this roof.”
“We're so grateful for His presence, and we pray that anyone who comes here for any reason will be touched by that divine help,” said the Bishop.
Bishop Schlert invited the people to “give thanks for all of the pieces that had to fall together in God's providence. What a great amount of blessing the Lord has shed on this community and on our entire Diocese.”
Noting at the end of the Mass that “it wouldn't be a Catholic thing if we didn't eat afterward,” the Bishop extended an invitation to enjoy hot menu items from the Catholic Charities food truck, stationed for the occasion on the Center grounds.
The St. Francis Spirituality and Retreat Center, located at 3918 Chipman Road, Easton, offers overnight accommodations, meals, meeting spaces, a chapel, and reflection grounds. Clergy, parish groups, small ministries, and individuals seeking spiritual renewal are welcome to schedule a tour or inquire about reserving space.
Visit www.stfrancisretreatcenter.org or call 484-837-1112.
Photos by Norm Steinruck.
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