Foyer de charité de Courset
In Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the twenty members of the community at Foyer de charité de Courset await and welcome you for family or couples retreats where you can find renewal in silence and the sharing of a joyful and fraternal life.
Retreats organized by the community
In the far North, Foyer de charité de Courset
Located in Northern France, in Pas-de-Calais (62), 20 km from the sea, Foyer de charité de Courset sits at the heart of a large park covering twenty hectares, at the entrance to the Course valley. The old 18th-century manor is surrounded by a park that was once one of the most famous botanical gardens. Today, the park offers a space conducive to contemplation where you can still admire some beautiful specimens of exceptional trees and shrubs.
From the opening of the Foyer in 1971, spiritual retreats have been organized. The community grew rapidly. Very soon, the Foyer sought to develop an additional activity. In September 1975, the Foyer opened a school, École Sainte-Odile. Buildings emerged at the pace of growth in the number of retreatants and students. The community developed increasingly diverse activities, especially for young people and families.
A vibrant, joyful, and welcoming community
Foyer de charité de Courset, founded in 1971, belongs to the Foyers de charité network, founded in 1936 under the inspiration of Marthe Robin and Father Georges Finet in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, in Drôme.
It currently includes more than 70 Foyers spread across 4 continents. The Foyers de charité bring together laypeople, men and women, living in community. They share a life of family, prayer, and work in service to all whom they welcome.
The Foyers de charité have gradually specialized in preaching spiritual retreats of Christian formation open to all. Community life is a pillar of life at these places, the community members pool their possessions, skills, and gifts.
Currently, the community includes about twenty members who divide their time between service to retreatants, leading an elementary and middle school of 200 students from elementary classes through ninth grade (École Sainte-Odile), and formation for young people who, for one year, want to deepen their faith and have a missionary experience called "Année pour Dieu" (Year for God).
What to expect during your stay
Foyer de charité de Courset, XXL-sized spiritual center
Foyer de charité de Courset has large guest capacity and includes all the spaces you could dream of for the best spiritual retreat possible, including:
- A building with about sixty rooms, single and double, all equipped with a bathroom with shower, sink, and toilet.
- A spacious chapel gathers retreatants for communal prayers and times of adoration.
- A dining room located in the original manor, with the character of the old building. Meals are served at table. Children take their meals in a separate dining room.
- A conference hall renovated in 2020, while preserving the imprint of the original old barn.
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Living a time of spiritual retreat at Courset
A spiritual retreat is a pause for the body, heart and spirit. It works like a breath to:
- Catch your breath, rest, find comfort in the midst of our hectic lives.
- Encounter God in silence, read His Word, revive your faith.
- Reflect on the meaning of your existence, take a step back before making important choices.
- Deepen the great questions of life, better understand the foundations of Christian faith.
Whatever the motivations, the spiritual retreat marks a pause, in a place conducive to interiority. The setting, silence, and rhythm of the retreat are all elements that cradle and ensure the beauty of this privileged time.
Who are the spiritual retreats at Foyer de charité de Courset for?
All adults are welcome, from 17 years old, believers or not. All receive the same welcoming kindness, with respect for their person and their individual journey. Foyer de charité welcomes you whatever your needs, your expectations, the stage of your life, wherever you are in your spiritual life, whether you are young or older, alone, as a couple or with family, you are welcome!
The Foyer members receive them in their community setting, like in a family. They do everything possible so that each person feels at ease, free to participate or not in the offerings made to them. The rhythm of each retreat is adapted to the age of participants, especially for family retreats and youth retreats.
Almost all six-day retreats are open to families with children welcome from 4 years old. Parents follow a silent retreat whose teachings meet them in their life as spouses and parents. The silence of the retreats should not be seen as empty or constraining silence, but on the contrary as fruitful silence. Some may find in it an echo of the experience of Marthe Robin who spoke of "silence where one hears God." Children, grouped by age, also live a retreat time.
The retreats are also privileged moments of encounter where retreatants are often surprised and touched by the bonds that have formed between them through mutual attention and exchanges of glances.
The practical unfolding of a spiritual retreat at Courset
The retreats take place in silence. They are led and preached by priests or laypeople. During two or three daily conferences, the preacher goes over the foundations of Christian faith. These formation times alternate with moments of personal and communal prayer and offerings of "workshops" (singing, bodily expression, gardening, calligraphy... depending on the retreats).
Each person has free time to rest and recharge and can, if desired, attend daily Mass. Priests and laypeople trained in listening and accompaniment are also available to meet with those who request it. The rhythm of retreats also varies depending on the theme, the speaker, or the proposed duration (six days, a weekend, or one day).
Retreat dedicated to families
In August, a "family retreat" allows parents, children up to 12 years old, and adolescents to live a synchronized spiritual time, each at their own level. Children and adolescents are grouped by age range. They experience adapted spiritual offerings, alternating with moments of relaxation and play.
Retreat otherwise: work projects, icons, or hiking
Foyer de charité offers extremely varied retreats, in their format and theme, according to your expectations and needs:
- "The hiking retreat": a retreat in silence lived at the pace of walking. Five to six hours of walking per day with return to the Foyer in the evening and two teachings during breaks. It's a retreat that allows you to change pace, to leave the comfort of daily life, to let yourself be imbued with the beauty, silence, calm of nature through the rolling paths of Boulonnais.
- "The icons session": you dream of writing an icon, this six-day session is for you! A true Christian art adorning churches around the world (particularly in the Orthodox church), the icon is a window onto the invisible. These retreats are led by Myriam Pillier.
Geography and activities
Brief history of the Courset estate and castle
It was the Dumont family who undertook the first developments of the castle and gardens in 1728. His grandson, Baron Dumont de Courset, was behind the richness of the botanical gardens.
The current castle dates largely from the first half of the 19th century. Purchased in 1923 by Georges Martel, a pottery manufacturer in Desvres, the castle was enlarged. In 1971, the castle was purchased to become what it is today, Foyer de charité de Courset.
The Opal Coast and surroundings of Foyer de Courset
Located in Pas-de-Calais (62), in the Boulonnais region, the Foyer is near the Course valley, at once wooded, hilly, flowery, and picturesque, along the small river from which the valley takes its name.
The town of Desvres is located 7 minutes away by car and has been able to display the "Ville et Métiers d'Art" (City and Crafts of Art) label since 1997. It hosts, in this capacity, the Ceramics Museum. Indeed, Desvres had acquired international renown thanks to its faience production, in full expansion in the 18th century. The town has, moreover, undertaken numerous renovation works on the facades of historic buildings located in the city center.
Boulogne-sur-Mer is only about thirty minutes by car from the Foyer and houses the Notre-Dame Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a 12th-century belfry, the Château d'Aumont (today transformed into a museum), and also the Hôtel Désandrouins (called Imperial Palace since Napoleon's stay in 1803).
For devoted coastal enthusiasts, the magnificent Opal Coast allows you to breathe in fresh sea air at Hardelot, Wimereux, Wissant, or at the Blanc-Nez and Gris-Nez Capes. Long beach walks are thus to be planned! The Opal Coast also has a large number of classified sites including the citadel of Montreuil, the belfries of Boulogne, Calais, or Dunkirk, a large number of castles, lighthouses, and sea forts including Fort d'Ambleteuse or Fort de l'Heurt.
Practical information
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