A native of Berlin, New Hampshire in the White Mountains, Fr. Roger has taught moral theology and social ethics for 22 years at the Oblate Seminary in Natick, Massachusetts and at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During that time, he also served as Ethics Consultant for St. Joseph Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since 1983, he has been involved in full-time retreat ministry, first at the Oblate Retreat House in Hudson, New Hampshire, where he served as Director, and currently at Immaculata. He took a temporary leave from this ministry from September 1999 to June 2003 when he went to the Oblate mission in Tahiti, French Polynesia, to teach Moral Theology at the diocesan seminary founded by the Oblates there. Among his special interests are: spiritual direction, directed retreats and Engaged Encounter Retreats for those preparing for Christian marriage.

Born in Mexico and raised in Oakland, CA, Fr. Chava was ordained to the priesthood in 2004 after completing his studies which he did in several countries. Fr. Chava has an advanced degree in catechetics and that is reflected in his love for youth ministry. He has international experience working with youth and preaching youth missions. During his seminary years he also ministered to prisoners incarcerated in many different correctional facilities including youth prisons in various countries.

At Immaculata, Fr. Chava has brought new life to existing youth programs and has developed new youth programs for the future. Hispanic ministry is also important to him and he is already conducting programs bringing Spanish-speaking people to Immaculata.

Fr. Ron Meyer, OMI was born on February 15, 1945 in Wisconsin, the first in a family of 15 children. He was educated in WI, IL, MS and ordained a priest on December 18, 1971 in Rome, Italy. His assignments have included: parish and youth work, teamed/parish and family retreats, Native American ministry, AA counseling and preaching assignments in the USA and Canada. Among his hobbies are: genealogy (25 years), beadwork (15 years), holiday crafting (35 years), carpentry (35 years) and music composition (20 years). Associations: Catholic Scouting, Fourth degree of the K of C, TEC and ACTS. His favorite prayer is: “Oh God, with your help I’ll do my best – You had better do all the rest!”

Calista has been with Immaculata since 1979. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a DARC degree in Alcohol and Drug Counseling. She is dedicated to the 12-Step Programs. She also coordinates our contracts and reservations system. Calista lives in Chaplin, CT.

Diane came to Immaculata in April of 2007 after the completion of our renovation. Before lending her expertise to Immaculata, she worked as a Medical Receptionist and this sensitivity is reflected in her warm and welcoming manner at the front desk here at Immaculata.

Diane is responsible for coordinating contracts and is very happy to assist anyone who calls or visits the Retreat House. She also helps to manage the Gift Shop and Bookstore. Her skills in Desktop Publishing have been extremely helpful in creating flyers, brochures and booklets for various in-house programs. Diane and her husband live in North Windham.

Spotlight on the Employee

Steve has enjoyed 29 years in the culinary field. His background includes service in hotels, restaurants and country clubs. His favorite style of cooking is traditional New England cuisine but he loves to venture into modern and international recipes. The kitchen design at Immaculata is state of the art with new cooking equipment and a layout which makes it a most efficient working environment. The dining room also boasts of assorted serving stations: juice machines, coffee urns, salad bar and desert case. Chef Steve says, “the newly updated kitchen and dining room is nothing short of a chef’s dream.”

Barbara has been working as the accountant at Immaculata Retreat House for 5 years. She was born and raised in Poland where she earned a degree at the Technical School of Electronics. Since moving to the United States, she completed an Associate Degree in Accounting at Manchester Community College.

In her spare time she enjoys cooking, gardening and tending the chickens at her rural home in Coventry where she lives with her husband and 4 sons.

Sharon has lived in Coventry for 21 years and has two children. She is a 1994 graduate of the Connecticut Culinary Institute. She has done both large scale cooking and private catering with a special interest in dietary allergies and holistic nutrition.