The Calcagnini Contemplative Center in Clarke County, Va., donated by Arthur (C ’54) and Nancy Calcagnini, was dedicated in a ceremony Thursday. The center will house ESCAPE retreats, the first of which took place Sept. 20.
Georgetown dedicated and blessed the Calcagnini Contemplative Center in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains on Thursday after two years of construction and a $17 million donation from Arthur (C ’54) and Nancy Calcagnini.
The center, which will house Campus Ministry retreats, department meetings and other university retreats, has been under construction for two years but ArthurCalcagnini’s vision for a Georgetown-owned retreat center reflects decades of ideas.
Arthur Calcagnini, former chair and member of the Board of Regents and the board of directors, respectively, fully endowed ESCAPE in 1991 after he and his wife attended an Ignatian retreat. They have remained a constant presence within the ESCAPE program, with Arthur Calcagnini participating in retreats almost every year.
The two-decade process of choosing a location ended with the discovery of a property in Clarke County, Va.
“Have you ever heard of love at first sight?” Arthur Calcagnini said. “It was so awesome walking on this location, seeing the view and thinking that students could come here and feel so relaxed and really get in touch with nature.”
At the dedication on Thursday, speakers focused on how the center would be an extension of Georgetown.
“[Georgetown’s location] was and is still an ideal setting: a hill, overlooking a river,” Vice President for Mission and Ministry Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., said. “Students, faculty, staff and alumni of Georgetown, each with a story to tell and a dream to share, with prayers to be voiced and friendships to be made will come here to this holy mountain.”
Magdalena Buczek (COL ’13), a former ESCAPE coordinator, emphasized the impact of her ESCAPE retreat.
“It is by listening that I knew what my next step would be,” Buczek said. “I finally understood why God had brought me to Georgetown.”
At the end of the ceremony, University President John J. DeGioia presented Georgetown’s gift to theCalcagnini family: a cross that sat atop Healy Hall for more than a century. The cross, which was removed following structural inspections after an earthquake in August 2011, is meant to represent the connection between the main campus and the center.
There are numerous structural differences between ESCAPE’s former location at Shepherd’s Spring Outdoor Ministry Center in Maryland, which Georgetown rented, and the new center.
“The center is designed for the flow of the retreats, especially for ESCAPE,” Arthur Calcagnini said. “It just made it much easier.”
Students began to use the Calcagnini Center with the first ESCAPE retreat of the year on Sept. 20.
“The contrast is pretty stark,” ESCAPE team leader Eric Nevalsky (SFS ’16) said. “Shepherd’s Spring had a very cozy feel to it. It was built decades ago, and all the furniture was very worn-in … whereas when you go to the Calcagnini Center, everything is brand new.”
The center’s resources also provide a point of attraction for new ESCAPE participants.
“It’s definitely a good selling point, because the rooms that you stay in and the food that you get are amazing,” Nevalsky said. “When we’re talking to freshmen, trying to get them to come on the retreat, we mention the Calcagnini Center a lot.”
O’Brien agreed, saying that he expects more students to attend campus ministry’s retreats.
“Having a home for all of our retreats will make them even more attractive,” O’Brien said. “So our hope is that even more students will want to go on our retreats.”
Despite the shift in setting, the program’s core mission has not changed.
“The format hasn’t changed,” Arthur Calcagnini said during his speech. “Students get piled into a bus and leave campus for 27 hours. And that has proven to be a life-changing experience for many of them.”
Looking forward, O’Brien hopes to develop new retreats, mentioning the idea of introducing retreats unaffiliated with any religion.
“We’re hearing about that need for students who aren’t religious to have time and space and programs to address their needs, so that’s what we’re thinking about now,” O’Brien said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the cross on Healy Hall fell off after the August 2011 earthquake. It was removed following structural inspections after the earthquake.
