Georgetown Receives $17 Mil Gift to Build Religious Retreat Center

A new spiritual retreat and contemplative center for Georgetown University students of all faiths and for the university’s already established religious retreats will be built in the Blue Ridge Mountains, thanks to a recent $17 million gift from Arthur (C’54) and Nancy Calcagnini.

The Calcagnini Contemplative Center, future home of the retreats, is expected to be completed by 2012 or 2013 on a 55-acre property in Bluemont, Va., about 75 minutes from Georgetown’s main campus.

The complex will include a Catholic chapel, community and dining halls, and 28 cabins that can house up to 78 students.

“I can’t think of a more important investment than to provide young people with the opportunity for quiet introspection and a chance to ask questions of themselves,” Arthur Calcagnini said. “This center will provide the potential to enrich every student for a lifetime. It is an important part of achieving the Jesuit philosophy of educating the whole person.” [Georgetown University]