OLV invites students and faculty to spend focused intentional time with our Lord and with each other at least twice a year: the Nunc Coepi retreat at the beginning of the school year and the Verso l’Alto retreat at the end of the school year.

Nunc Coepi Orientation & Retreat

“Nunc Coepi” is Latin for “Now I begin” and provides the theme with which OLV students begin each new academic year. In a letter to a spiritual directee, Venerable Bruno Lanteri wrote: 

“Say with courage: Nunc Coepi – Now I Begin and walk always in the service of God. Do not keep stopping to look back, because he who looks back cannot hasten forward.”  

Before classes begin, OLV students spend three days preparing for the school year academically, socially, and spiritually. Academic preparation involves an overview of the upcoming year’s curriculum as well as workshops on how to study, how to prepare for class, and how to manage time well. Students learn uniform expectations and get to know faculty advisors. Social preparation involves introducing incoming freshmen to the culture of OLV and inducting students into their Houses. It also includes time for camaraderie, building friendships between students and faculty, and ends with the much-anticipated first House competition and party.

The heart of Nunc Coepi, however, is the emphasis on spiritual preparation for the year ahead. Students and faculty alike ponder the question: “How do I begin the school year spiritually prepared to live the virtue of friendship and to respond wholeheartedly to what God is asking of me this year?” Through activities such as mountain hikes, spiritual reflections, and adoration, students prayerfully reflect on how to strengthen their friendship with Christ and with each other. Friendship is at the heart of OLV’s mission to form joyful Catholic witnesses who can set the world on fire. That mission, which is nurtured through four years of education and culture-building at OLV, begins with Nunc Coepi.

Verso l’Alto End-of-Year Retreat

After classes end for the academic year, students come together one final time to reflect on the past year and consider how best to build on the education and formation they have received at OLV. The theme for the end-of-year retreat is “Verso l’Alto”, which means “to the heights” and comes from a note written by Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. For OLV, this phrase represents our constant striving to reach the heights of human flourishing and, ultimately, eternal life. 

Students and faculty spend two days together in spiritual retreat. In line with OLV’s mission to build Christian friendship, one of the days is dedicated to strengthening the bonds among the students and faculty. Men and women participate in separate day-long events, with a focus on exploring authentic masculinity and femininity. In the past, OLV men have hiked, attended mass, and enjoyed a meal together in the mountains. OLV women have spent time in fellowship learning the art of conversation, how to affirm each other’s qualities and virtues, and enjoying an afternoon creating! On the final day of the retreat, students and faculty reunite to focus on friendship with Christ through praise and worship, adoration, and a final send-off talk.