Father James Schultz, pastor of Transfiguration of Our Lord in Syracuse, conducts a Brown Scapular investiture, enrolling a woman in this Marian devotion at last year’s retreat held at Holy Cross Church in DeWitt.
Mail-in and online registration is now open
By Tami S. Scott
Editor
Early in Lent, women are invited to step away from daily stress to breathe in peace and draw closer to God at the 2026 Catholic Women’s Lenten Retreat. The annual event will take place on two Saturday mornings in February at three locations across the diocese:
• 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Feb. 21 @ Mary, Mother of Our Savior, Utica
• 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 @ St. Vincent de Paul Blessed Sacrament, Vestal
• 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Feb. 28 @ Pope John XXIII, Liverpool
Presented by the Syracuse Catholic Women’s Commission, the theme draws from Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.”
Father Jason Hage, pastor of Mary, Mother of Our Savior Parish in New Hartford and Utica, enrolls women in the Brown Scapular at the 2025 Utica Retreat.
“Connecting with our theme is Christ is our light and guide, said Commission chair Jill Smith. “These retreats draw us closer to one another as we seek the light of Christ this Lent, so that we may become signs of Christ’s light in the world.”
When asked what attendees might expect to take away from the events, Smith said peace and spiritual nourishment.
Each retreat includes breakfast (gifted by the Knights of Columbus in Vestal and Liverpool), Mass, speaker reflections, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Adoration, and recitation of the Rosary.
In Liverpool only, the morning also includes veneration of a Vatican-sanctioned relic of the Holy Face of Jesus (touched to the instruments of the Passion and St. Veronica’s veil), and a presentation by the curator, Mary Mutti of the Archdiocese of Detroit. This same Relic was also displayed at the October 2025 Marian Conference in Syracuse.
“It was so popular,” Smith said. “We had lines literally out the door for the Relic.” Consequently, event organizers decided to integrate the recitation of the Chaplet of the Holy Face for this retreat. “We’re all going to pray it together very powerfully in front of the Holy Face of Jesus Relic, which will be there in church,” Smith added.
The Liverpool and Utica locations will also include Brown Scapular Enrollment. “When you enroll in the Brown Scapular, it’s like saying, ‘I’m on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s team,’ and it comes with great promises. She’s so generous with us,” Smith said. Booklets containing information about the Brown Scapular devotion will be available at the retreat.
Featured speakers
Each retreat includes a reflection from a featured speaker who ministers within the diocese: Father Joseph Ryan, S.T.L, Sister Beth Ann Dillon, DSMP, and Father Zach Miller.
Father Joseph Ryan, the parochial vicar of Spirit of Hope Parish in Oneida, will join the Utica faithful. Alongside his duties as Parochial Vicar, he teaches Morality at Holy Cross Academy and Religion at St. Patrick’s School in Oneida. Sister Beth Ann Dillon, DSMP, will speak in Vestal. She is the director of SPAR (Special Program of Adaptive Religious Education), a program designed for special needs students of all ages who desire to receive the Sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. Father Zach Miller is the pastor of Christ the King and Pope John XXIII Parishes in Liverpool. He served six years in the Army National Guard and Reserve, earned a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice, and currently serves as chaplain to the Central New York Police Chiefs.
Learn more about each speaker at syracusecatholicwomen.org. There, you will also find a breakdown of the morning schedule.
Eva Mroczek (left) and Jill Smith smile for the camera at the 2025 Utica Retreat breakfast.
Spread the faith: Bring a friend
The retreat may be designed specifically for Catholic women, but all women are welcome to attend. If you know someone who may be interested in learning more about the Catholic faith, invite them. If you are Catholic or have a Catholic friend who feels disconnected or has fallen away from the church, this is an opportunity to draw closer to God and accompany others on their faith journey.
“We want to spread the faith,” Smith said. “The Holy Face of Jesus Relic is known for its ability to convert. God works through these instruments, through relics, through people. We’re all under God’s authority,” she said, emphasizing that no one knows the good that can come from just being open and present with God.
Registration
Each session typically sells out each year, and Vestal is the only location where limited walk-in registration is available. Visit syracusecatholicwomen.org to register online. Email syrcwc@gmail.com for questions or mail-in payments. Cost is $25 per person.
