Seated on over 100 acres in the charming town of Burlington, this former Franciscan friary boasts 70 rooms and a large chapel capable of holding 300 people, as well as a refectory, several conference rooms, and an auditorium. Its idyllic fields and woods border the Fox River, with several other bodies of water nearby, including Lake Geneva. The town of Burlington is conveniently located one hour north of Chicago O'Hare airport and 30 minutes south of Milwaukee, and is thus within a day's drive of all our apostolates in the central United States.

The Institute will prepare this property to be used year-round for a number of activities central to our mission, especially youth camps and spiritual retreats. The Institute also has houses in France, Germany, and Switzerland which offer retreats according to the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. Our intention is that it should serve in particular the needs of our international lay society, the Society of the Sacred Heart. With this purpose in mind, it will be known henceforth as Sacred Heart Retreat Center.

First constructed in 1931 and expanded with an additional north wing in 1952, the friary building is on the National Register of Historic Places and was once a popular place of pilgrimage. Thorough inspections have revealed the building to be in very good condition. It is our hope that, with a generous response from our faithful, Sacred Heart Retreat Center will open its doors after several months of renovations.

This great development in the history of the American Province is the fruit of over three years of fervent prayer and diligent research. The Institute is very grateful to His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jerome Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee, for his blessing on this property acquisition which will now complement our 15 years of service at St. Stanislaus Oratory in Milwaukee.

We ask for your prayers as we embark on this bold endeavor in the service of Christ our King and High Priest, and we look forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks the ways that you can help.