A retreat is your chance to step aside from life for a while, to rest and just 'be' in a welcoming, peaceful place.
Carmelite Priory
Carmelite Priory, Chilswell Lane, Boars Hill, Oxford, UK
Contact Details
Contact Name:
Fr Nicholas Macedon
Email:
Telephone:
07849 596572 or 07767184812
Retreat Centre Description
We are friars and lay people who dedicate our lives to living out prayer and community through running a Retreat Centre on the outskirts of Oxford. Whoever you are, we offer opportunities for you to leave your busy life and spend time in peaceful contemplation.
Accommodation on Offer
The Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, Oxford is situated in a 17 acres of land which gives space and serenity for individual's encounter with the Alone. The chapel is a portable one where retreatants are encouraged to join the community at prayer, especially the Eucharist celebration which is at the centre of our carmelit life and hospitality.
We have 14 ensuite rooms and 11 rooms with shared facilities. Our facilities have coffee rooms and a kitchnette that offers individuals and groups who may not wish fullboarding to opt for selfcatering during their stay. Our meeting rooms are very conducive and the conference rooms are equiped with good audio-visual facilities for conferences and online talks. The wifi is 24hrs avaialable. We have a large dinning that can accommodate a large number of people.
Retreat Centre Facilities
Please see website for retreat centre facilities
Types of Retreat Offered
Please see website for retreats offered
2024 Events
TITLE OF EVENT: Living Prayer Podcast
START DATE: 10 January 2024
END DATE: 25 December 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE): Fully Online (Every Wednesday)
DESCRIPTION: In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, 2024 has been designated a Year of Prayer by Pope Francis. So, join us for a year-long programme dedicated to prayer, where we will provide weekly podcasts, videos and materials to aid you in your prayer life. Our aim is to empower you to not only embrace prayer as a spiritual practice but to make it an integral part of your everyday life—an enriching, transformative adventure that leads you closer to the heart of God. Join us on this sacred pilgrimage, where prayer becomes a profound dialogue of love and communion.
CATEGORY: Free
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Enter the Narrow Gate
START DATE: 30th January 2024
END DATE: 30th December 2025 (Once a month)
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: Over a one-year period, for twelve months, starting in January of 2024, we will become companions on a journey of profound faith deepening. On this journey we will draw for guidance upon Chapter 7 of the Rule of Saint Benedict in which he traces the twelve steps of humility. Each of them merits our awe-filled attention as we appraise their wisdom and allow it by the grace of God to take root in our heart. Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bypass the road to perdition and follow Jesus to new life (Matthew 7:13-14).
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Lenten Meditations with Poetry and Art
START DATE: 15th February 2024
END DATE: 7th March 2024
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: Lenten Meditations with Poetry and Art: A series of zoom Lenten retreats to help you be more attentive to God’s loving presence in your life and in prayer through poetry and art These sessions will be devoted to reflections on the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ as told through poetry and art. Join us each week for these slowed-down meditations that will help us to behold the Paschal Mystery with new eyes.
Session 1: The Last Supper – Thursday February 15th
Session 2: The Agony in the Garden – Thursday February 22nd
Session 3: Ecce Homo – Thursday February 29th
Session 4: The Crucifixion – Thursday March 7th
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: To Believe in Jesus
START DATE: 17th February 2024
END DATE: 23rd March 2024
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: Immerse yourself in the transformative graces of this Lenten season by participating in this CACS online Lent Book. Over six weekly sessions, we will discuss together "To Believe in Jesus" by Ruth Burrows. This book explores what faith in Jesus really means and how it can grow and flower through our everyday lives. Written particularly for lay people, however, Christians in any situation will benefit from its rich spiritual insights.
February 17th (start)
February 24th
March 2nd
March 9th
March 16th
March 23rd
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Spiritual Direction Formation Program
START DATE: September 2024
END DATE: May 2026
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, OX1 5HB, Oxford DESCRIPTION: The Spiritual Direction Formation Program (Carmelite Tradition) – which has been running since September 2019 – builds on an interpretation of the experience of journeying towards intimacy with God as expressed in the life of the Carmelite saints and deriving principles from this for the growth and flourishing of the spiritual life. The program, therefore, has its foundation in the spirituality of the Carmelite tradition. At the heart of this spirituality is a prayerful listening and response to the God who befriends us and an expression of this experience through a life of contemplative awareness and friendship with one another. One does not need to be a Carmelite or even know much of Carmelite spirituality to be part of the Program.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online and Residential: Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, OX1 5HB, Oxford
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: sdfp@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Journey Towards Easter with the Psalms
START DATE: 12th March 2024
END DATE: 26th March 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: The Psalms have a way of piercing our mind and taking us into the presence of the divine. “Journey Towards Easter with the Psalms” will help us unravel the mystery we celebrate at Easter. With this retreat we put ourselves in the mood of the mysteries of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, and their implications for us. Join us as you gift yourself with the best gift you can as we participate in the mystery of salvation.
12th March 2024
19th March 2024
26th March 2024
CATEGORY: Free
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Holy Week/Easter Triduum Retreat
START DATE: 27th March 2024
END DATE: 31st March 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, OX1 5HB, Oxford
Thu Mar 28 - HOLY THURSDAY
Fri Mar 29 - GOOD FRIDAY
Sat Mar 30 - HOLY SATURDAY
Sun Mar 31 - EASTER SUNDAY
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online/ limited residence: Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, OX1 5HB, Oxford
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: SEDER MEAL
START DATE: 27th March
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Online and in person
DESCRIPTION: A celebration of the Christian Seder Meal, and reflections on key ancient Hebrew beliefs and traditions that hold the key to our understanding the original meaning of the Eucharistic words of Jesus. Fr. Alexander Ezechukwu, a Carmelite priest and a biblical scholar trained at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, will lead us in this enriching Christian Seder Meal with teachings, reflections and presiding. You can attend the seder meal online or in person. For in-person participation reservation need to be made by 28th February.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Carmelite Priory, Boars Hill, OX1 5HB, Oxford
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Practicing the Prayer of Presence: A Retreat with Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
START DATE: 8th June
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: This day is devoted to unfolding the prayer of Presence, as taught by Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century Carmelite friar. With his simplicity and humility, Brother Lawrence inspires us to embrace a deeper life of prayer and integrate it within the context of our everyday-ness.
CATEGORY: Paid (But free for members of Carmelite Spirituality Network)
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: csn@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Retreat Pilgrimage with St John of the Cross
START DATE: 17th April 2024
END DATE: 23rd April 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Segovia (Spain)
DESCRIPTION: Come wander with us through Spain in the company of John of the Cross, the great mystic and poet. We will travel to many of the places where he lived out his life, but what we are most looking for is a glimpse of the divine union that burned in his heart and about which he sang in his Spiritual Canticle.
Visiting these holy places will awaken in you anew the realization that the life of John, though gone before us marked with the sign of faith, lives on well beyond his earthly departure. The living example of this discipleship, striving to keep alive the flame of fidelity, the inspiration of his words, and the vibration of his very presence become a living witness for us his disciples.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Segovia Spain
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Prayer, Virtue and Discipleship: Keys to Pastoral Ministry
START DATE: 9th May 2024
END DATE: 6th June 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: This course aims to enrich the pastoral ministry of participants and to make accessible to them the formative wisdom of Christian mystics and spiritual masters. The short course is therefore, suitable for a wide range of people: those who work in pastoral settings (hospitals, chaplaincies, prisons, in ministry) and those who are simply interested in understanding more about the spiritual life and pastoral ministry. The course will be delivered in three sessions configured thematically, and each will feature particular spiritual masters from the ancient, medieval and modern traditions including John Cassian, Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Francis de Sales, and Thérèse of Lisieux.
Thursday 9th May 2024: Planting the Seeds: A LIFE OF PRAYER
Thursday 23rd May 2024: Tilling the Soil: A LIFE OF DISCIPLESHIP
Thursday 6th June 2024: Reaping the Harvest: A LIFE OF VIRTUE
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Retreat Pilgrimage with St Thérèse of Lisieux
START DATE: 10th May 2024
END DATE: 16th May 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Lisieux/Fatima
DESCRIPTION: In celebrating the centenary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, we make this journey in the praise of God’s glory. The God who formed His little daughter into a replica of his masterpiece, Mary Immaculate. At age six Thérèse wrote, “I want to be a very good girl. The Blessed Virgin is my dear Mother and little children usually resemble their mother.” Thérèse became, as it were, a reflection of the Blessed Virgin by her perfect imitation of her virtues. It is precisely Mary’s hidden virtues, living the “yes” of Mary in her ordinary life at Nazareth, which are echoed in the life and writings of St. Therese.
During this pilgrimage with St. Thérèse we will explore her singular devotion to Mary. Pondering on her beautiful poem, “why I Love you O Mary”, we will discover a renewed love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayerfully journey to Our Lady’s Shrine in Fatima where we’ll renew our love and devotion to her.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Lisieux (France)/Fatima (Portugal)
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Pentecost Retreat 2024
Theme: Unwrapping the Fruits of the Holy Spirit
START DATE: 7th May 2024
END DATE: 18th May 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: The gifts of the Holy Spirit are seven, but what are gifts if they do not bear fruits? During these 12 days leading to Pentecost, we shall be unwrapping each day, the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit as a guide to empowering you to live a spirit-filled life in your daily activities. In a nutshell, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are practical ways of living out the gifts, and in concrete terms, living out your Christian vocation and values. It is just going to be a five minutes expose of each fruit and pointers that you are on the right track.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23):
CATEGORY: Free
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Retreat Pilgrimage with St Teresa of Avila
START DATE: 10 October 2024
END DATE: 16th October 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Avila (Spain)
DESCRIPTION: Join us as on this experiential pilgrimage retreat with Teresa, traversing her birth place and her monastic environment. This would bring us to the environment and culture in which Teresa lived and thrived. On each day of the retreat-pilgrimage there will be a planned itinerary in the mornings involving powerful presentations from the retreat leaders designed to integrate all you’re experiencing into your interior life, followed by a guided visit to a place of interest in the environs.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Avila
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Teresa of Avila and Jerome Gratian: A Forgotten Friendship
DATE: 14th October 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: This talk will look at the importance of Fr Gratian in St Teresa’s life. It was probably the most her important relationship she ever had. In the seven years they knew each other he had a huge influence on her and the origins of our Reform. Shortly after her death he was expelled from the Order and for four centuries was never talked about; he just disappeared. The talk will look at why this happened and his restoration to the Order in 1999.
CATEGORY: Free donation
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Living Word: An Introduction to Scripture
START DATE: 16th October 2024
END DATE: 3rd June 2025
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: The course will take a comprehensive look at the structure and contents of the Bible, i.e., both the Old and the New Testaments, their historical background and the centuries-old tradition of Biblical interpretation (‘exegesis’).
Each term offers a unique focus, beginning with the Old Testament where we unravel its historical background, immerse ourselves in the profound teachings of the Pentateuch, explore the mission and message of the Prophets, and delve into the timeless insights within Wisdom Literature.
The second term will introduce participants to the freshness of the New Testament, giving insights into its historical background, immersing ourselves in the narratives of the Gospels, exploring the depth of wisdom in the Letters, and unlocking the mysteries of the Apocalypse.
The final term is a captivating exploration of over two millennia of Biblical Interpretation, spanning both Jewish and Christian traditions. Discover the depth and breadth of interpretation that has shaped understanding, drawing wisdom from the diverse perspectives that enrich our understanding of these sacred texts.
6th November: The Prophets I
13th November: The Prophets II
20th November: The Books of Wisdom
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: soscripture@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Together as Pilgrims in the Communion of Saints
START DATE: November 13, 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: On this vigil of the feast of All Carmelite Saints, we shall consider the phrase of the apostles’ creed, "I believe in the communion of saints", and see how that communion can sustain our prayer and strengthen our hope.
CATEGORY: Free donation
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: School of Prophets
START DATE: 3rd November 2024
END DATE: 8th June 2025
FULL ADDRESS (POSTCODE): Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: The School of Prophets aims to hear and heed God’s voice from within the tumult of this time. Practicing the prayer, study, and silent receptivity exemplified by the prophets, school-participants will examine the world as God sees it, and discern ways to speak God’s truth, for both what is needed and possible.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: soprophets@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Advent Retreat: “Waiting on the Word: Advent Through the Psalms”
START DATE: 1st December 2024
END DATE: 22nd December 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Online
DESCRIPTION: The Psalms for millennia have formed part of the Judeo-Christian personal and liturgical experience of prayer. Starting off with a selection of Psalms, this retreat will explore the poetic form of the Psalms, and their imagery that touch the emotions and engage the mind in longing and waiting for the Word made flesh. With the Psalmist we express our deepest yearning for the Word that gives life, and dispels the darkness and gloom of human situation. Join us on Sundays of Advent as we “Wait on the Word” who is Life – a Word that we will hear and see and touch as we engage with Scripture.
Sun Dec 1
Sun Dec 8
Sun Dec 15
Sun Dec 22
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: admin@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
TITLE OF EVENT: Retreat Pilgrimage with Our Lady of Mount Carmel
START DATE: 16th December 2024
END DATE: 27th December 2024
FULL ADDRESS/POSTCODE: Fully Online
DESCRIPTION: Join us as we go to the birth place of the Carmelites, on that Holy Mountain where Elijah proved the primacy of the Living God over Baal. It is always necessary to go back to the beginnings of one’s tradition and history. We will share 12 days together journeying around Israel towards Mount Carmel. We shall visit the Shepherds’ field, the Dead Sea, Gethsemane, Tabor and many more historical places including Beersheva, Timna, St Peter in Gallicantu, Dominus Flevit, Via Dolorosa, Shechem, Jezreel & Muhraqa that build your faith especially as it has deliberately couched out that you celebrate Christmas at the place the saviour was born.
CATEGORY: Paid
VENUE NAME: Online
PHONE NUMBER: 07849596572
EMAIL ADDRESS: pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk
WEBSITE: www.carmelite.uk.net
2025 Events
Retreat Centre Location
Carmelite Priory, Chilswell Lane, Boars Hill, Oxford, UK