College seminary to host Bishop Bruté Days on June 16-19

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin speaks on June 18, 2014, at Bishop Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis to Bishop Bruté Days participants. (Criterion file photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis will host its 10th Bishop Bruté Days on June 16-19 for boys ages 13-17 who are open to the possibility of a call to the priesthood.

The four-day retreat and camping experience, which is operated by priests, seminarians and other adults, will take place on the campus of the seminary at 2500 Cold Spring Road in Indianapolis.

Bishop Bruté Days is a combination of outdoor games and sports activities and times for worship and spiritual enrichment, such as daily Mass, eucharistic adoration, confession and presentations on the faith given by seminarians and priests serving in central and southern Indiana.

Father Robert Robeson, rector of Bishop Bruté, said Bishop Bruté Days has helped young Catholic men across the archdiocese for many years.

“It is very encouraging for the young men who attend the retreat to know that there are other young people in junior high and high school who are thinking about the possibility of priesthood,” he said. “In meeting the seminarians, they can see young men several years older who are normal, healthy and similar to themselves who have made the commitment to enter the seminary.”

Hosting Bishop Bruté Days at the seminary is fairly new. This will be the third year it takes place there.

“It is great to have it at our own home base because the retreat gives the retreatants some familiarity with where and how our seminarians live,” Father Robeson said. “We have a beautiful, sacred home here that was passed on to us by the Carmelite Sisters, and it gives the young men an appreciation for being in a sacred space that is dedicated to God’s work here on Earth.”

Bishop Bruté Seminary was previously the Carmelite Monastery of the Resurrection.

Father Robeson noted that the teenage boys who might be good candidates for Bishop Bruté Days can be at various points along the way of considering the priesthood.

“The priesthood is a beautiful way to give your life for God,” Father Robeson said. “I thank God every day for calling me to the priesthood. If a young man is in any way open to the possibility that they may be called to the priesthood … Bishop Bruté Days is a wonderful way to begin considering this possibility.

“Our retreatants always have fun, and they learn a great deal by praying with the seminarians, living with the seminarians and a few priests for a short period of time, and listening to the various talks on our Catholic faith and vocation that are part of the program.”
 

(Participation in Bishop Bruté Days costs $75. Registration forms and more information can be found at www.archindy.org/bsb/events.html, by calling 317-924-4100 or sending an e-mail to ashea@archindy.org.) †