Campus Ministry Retreats

Retreat experiences are integral part of the O’Dea experience, allowing our young men the chance to make lasting connections to their personal faith and strengthening their bonds with each other.

Freshman Retreat – Belonging

During this retreat, all freshmen visit Camp Don Bosco for the day to learn more about their new classmates, share their faith, and understand how they belong to God and to the O’Dea Brotherhood.

Sophomore Retreat – Serving

This day long retreat, held in the spring, focuses on servant leadership. Sophomores spend half the day putting faith into action by volunteering in various locations for Catholic Community Services, and the other half reflecting on the importance of service for themselves and for the community.

Encounter

For the past 40 years, the young men of O’Dea have had the opportunity to experience The Encounter Retreat. Encounter has been described as the most important thing we do at O’Dea High School. This epic journey of faith and self-discovery has been experienced by over 3,000 young men of different religious backgrounds and creates bonds of Brotherhood that last a lifetime. Throughout its rich history, Encounter has experienced a few changes, but still remains at the core of the O’Dea mission of Character, Faith and Service. This Junior and Senior overnight retreat takes place at beautiful Camp Don Bosco in Carnation, WA.

“Before attending Encounter, my faith life was confusing. After going on Encounter 101 – I found my identity and a sense of understanding my personal relationship with God. If you want to feel closer to God and others, you’d be missing out if you didn’t experience Encounter!” -Zach Dietiker, ’24 – Encounter 101 Retreatant, Encounter 103 Leader