It is no secret that in today’s world taking time for yourself is not… encouraged. In the era of mental health days and unlimited sick time becoming more and more popular, it seems contradictory to say that religious retreats do not harbor the same impact in the working and educational world. However, chances are, if you ask someone why they’re missing school, work, or any other obligation, they’re not missing to reinforce their religious life.
That was the issue that Sister M. Concetta (now Dorthy Gereke) and Father Matt Fedewa of Lansing, Michigan sought to solve when they led the first Teens Encounter Christ retreat weekend in October of 1965. Teens Encounter Christ is a 3 day retreat that focuses on the Paschal Mysteries of Christ. By focusing on the Paschal Mysteries when retreatants are at a specific transition point in their lives, high school, they are invited to include God in their college lives and beyond.
The retreat spread like wildfire, and eventually made its way to the Des Moines Diocese, where the first retreat weekend was held in 1970. After travelling around the Des Moines area, TEC settled at the St. Thomas More Center in Panora, Iowa in 1984.
Unfortunately, due to lack of engagement from students and leaders, the last Des Moines retreat weekend was held in 2006. Then, for almost 20 years, TEC was gone.
That is, until Dowling Senior Catherine Wilwerding attended a TEC in Moline, Illinois and
decided it was time for the retreat to return to Des Moines. After months of working with youth ministers across the diocese, Bishop Joensen, and the national director of the TEC movement, Catherine was able to bring the retreat back to St. Thomas Moore.
The first Des Moines TEC held in almost 20 years was TEC 259, focused on training a new generation of “TECites” to lead the upcoming retreats in January, February, and March. TEC 259 was a mix of generations, backgrounds, and faiths–a perfect starting point for the revived era of TEC.
TEC is designed to be an expression of love, for anyone seeking to slow down and take a break from everyday life, and to build a retreat culture in our community. Teens Encounter Christ is for anybody, you do not have to be Catholic (or a student at Dowling) to attend the retreat. Simply show up, be open to change, and be ready to love.
If you or someone you love wants to attend a TEC retreat, the links for signup can be found at https://stmc.campbrainregistration.com The next three retreats are:
TEC 260: January 17-19, 2026
TEC 261: February 21-23, 2026
TEC 262: March 7-9, 2026
Sources:
https://www.switec.org/history
https://www.dmdiocese.org/news/tec-is-coming-back-to-the-diocese-of-des-moines
