Evening in the Loyola Prayer Gardens Fundraiser Showcases Beautiful Sacred Space

Loyola Jesuit Center, located at 161 James Street on thirty acres of beautiful lawns, gardens and woodlands in Morristown, NJ, will host its 5th annual “Evening in the Loyola Prayer Gardens” on Thursday, June 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a live musical performance by the Mueller Family Schola, (The Polyphony Family). A chance to win up to $30,000 in a Super 50/50 Raffle at $100 per ticket is also part of the evening’s festivities. The drawing will take place at the event but attendance is not required to win.

Since 1927, Loyola Jesuit Center (formerly Loyola House of Retreats) has offered silent retreats for men and women of all faiths, ages, cultures and walks of life, in a quiet, contemplative atmosphere. “As Loyola enters its 90th year of ministry, we continue to preach God’s Word within this beautiful landscape and on these sacred grounds,” said Renee Owens, Director of the Work. “Thousands of people have walked through our doors and our gardens, seeking peace, restoration and God’s presence and have returned to their family, workplace and community feeling more centered and refreshed with a renewed vigor.”

The garden concert will feature the Mueller Family Schola, (The Polyphony Family) who will perform sacred church music sung in harmony and chant. Their program will contain polyphony (the layering of voices) from well-known masters such as Palestrina, Victoria, Handel, Clemens non Papa, Praetorius and Hassler. This will be the same program that the ensemble will perform in Krakow, Poland in July for World Youth Day 2016 in front of Pope Francis and hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world.

In addition to the prayer gardens, which honor the memory of Frank Diassi, Sr., Loyola’s original groundskeeper, the historic mansion built in 1904 and donated to the Jesuits in 1927, will be open for guests to tour throughout the evening. “We want everyone to come and experience the splendor and tranquility of Loyola, whether it’s for a special event like this, a weekend/week-long/mid-week retreat, a day/evening of prayer, First Friday mass or one of our spiritually-enriching programs. Loyola provides a respite from the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced, technological world,” said Owens.

All proceeds from the event will help Loyola Jesuit Center continue its Free Will Offering approach of accepting donations of any size for its retreats and providing retreats for the less fortunate, those combatting homelessness and addiction and those in recovery. All are welcome at Loyola regardless of financial status. For more information or to purchase event tickets or Super 50/50 raffle tickets, e-mail retreathouse@loyola.org, call 973-539-0740 or visit the website at www.loyola.org.