Mariapolis Center
In Isère, the Mariapolis Center is run by a community of four focolarine sisters who welcome groups (church movements, youth groups, etc.) to enjoy the exceptional setting of the Chartreuse mountain range.
Organized retreats open to everyone are also offered each year!
Retreats organized by the community
From Sisters of the Rosary to the Focolari
The Mariapolis Center of Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse (Isère) is a guest house for groups, animated by the Focolare Movement and managed by the Montbruno Association.
The house was given to the Focolare Movement in 1984 by the Sisters of the Rosary, a congregation that recently merged with the Trinitarian Sisters of Valence. It was originally an outdoor facility for children, so it had to be gradually renovated to make it suitable for everyone, thanks to the generosity and availability of many people.
During the 1990s, Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, gave it the name "People of God". Thus, the house became a formation center for the spirituality of unity for members of the movement and beyond. Located at the heart of the multi-season activities resort of Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse, in the Chartreuse Regional Natural Park, the Mariapolis Center can host meetings, retreats, and sessions for movements, communities, parishes, and chaplaincies.
The Focolare Movement and how the Mariapolis Center operates
The community present on site is a focolare, defined as such by Chiara Lubich, who originated it: "a new path to holiness in the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit for this century, with the influence of Mary."
The community consists of four focolarine sisters who live on site. They serve the Center which, as its name indicates, desires to be the house of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The Montbruno Association relies on the commitment of many volunteers, who come to help according to each person's availability and the needs of the moment. According to their talents, everyone participates in the various services offered, whether in the kitchen, the laundry, guest reception, housekeeping when necessary, outside for the garden, or in office work. All the volunteers contribute to the center's outreach.
The Focolare Movement, initiated by Chiara Lubich in Italy in 1943, offers everyone an accessible path to find unity with God, harmonize one's life in its daily aspects, and build fraternal relationships. Its spirituality of communion, as it is called, is based on faith in God's personal love for each person, putting His word into practice, and the experience of His tangible presence among us. Its members commit to building fraternity within their family, in their work environment, in society, in dialogue with all religions and with people without religious conviction.
What to expect during your stay
How meetings unfold at the Mariapolis Center
Each group stays in the house following its own schedule or building it with the center team (implementing a culture of peace, discovering a different lifestyle with the "art of loving," etc.).
The program includes: spiritual renewal time, exchanges, and relaxation (walks, sports outings, museum visits, etc.).
The Mariapolis Center is particularly suited for family groups with children and youth and adolescent groups wishing to:
- experience fraternity.
- recharge and give new meaning to their lives.
- have a relational experience of true family.
- be formed in the light of the charism of unity.
Recharging as a group at the Mariapolis Center
The Center is open year-round and offers full board or half board accommodation (no self-catering). The accommodation capacity is 80 people in the house. The center includes 28 rooms (single beds or bunk beds), including 2 rooms adapted for people with reduced mobility (expansion possible with nearby accommodations in the village).
The Center has a reception room, a meeting room, two dining rooms, a chapel, and a garden with a magnificent panoramic view. Meals are served cafeteria-style at times and in ways agreed upon with the group.
The Mariapolis Center only receives established groups of 25 people or more.
Geography and activities
The mountainous surroundings of Mariapolis, in Isère
The Mariapolis Center is located at the heart of the multi-season activities resort of Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse (Isère), in the Chartreuse Regional Natural Park, 45 minutes from Grenoble, one hour from Chambéry, and 1.5 hours from Lyon.
Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse is perched at 900 meters altitude at the heart of the Chartreuse mountain range. A small village of 1,000 souls, it is overlooked by emblematic peaks of the range including Chamechaude (the highest point of the range, at 2,082 m altitude), Charmant Som, and Grand Som. The geographical location of the Mariapolis Center allows you to spend a stay as close to nature as possible.
A multitude of activities are accessible from Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse: hiking, snowshoeing, or cycling, trail running, alpine skiing (beginner level), Nordic skiing, or cross-country skiing.
But Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse is not only a lively village focused on nature and its sports and cultural activities, it is also the birthplace of the Carthusian order, as evidenced by the Monastery and museum of Grande Chartreuse. The Museum of Contemporary Sacred Art in Saint Hugues de Chartreuse is also particularly renowned, notably for the paintings of the artist Arcabas.
Practical information
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