Frequently Asked Questions

San Damiano is located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley off Route 522 between Winchester and Front Royal.

San Damiano Spiritual Life Center
125 Old Kitchen Road
White Post, VA 22663

Email: sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org
Phone: 540-868-9220

San Damiano has 31 rooms available for guests. All rooms have private bathrooms except for 2 pairs of rooms that share a bathroom. If no retreatants share a bathroom, there are 29 rooms available. We have 2 rooms that are handicap accessible. One has a bathtub and the other a walk-in shower.

In addition to the specific retreat conferences and activities, we have:

• The Our Lady of Angels Chapel is always open for prayer and adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
• 150 acres of woods and fields with walking paths for quiet meditation, prayer, and reflection
• An exercise room with elliptical and stationary bicycle machines
• Lounges in which you may relax and read
• A library with many books on a wide variety of subjects by a wide variety of authors

Open registration retreats are listed on our web page, www.arlingtondiocese.org/retreat-events . The list of retreats changes frequently. Check the page often for new retreats.

For retreats coordinated by San Damiano, send an email to sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org and let us know which retreat you would like to attend. We will send you a registration form. When you return the completed form and send the payment check, your registration is complete.

Start and stop times are determined by the retreat group with concurrence from San Damiano's Director. Check with the group planning the retreat for the schedule.

Retreats sponsored by San Damiano usually start with dinner at 6 pm on Friday and end after lunch on Sunday.

Contact the Director either by email (sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org)or phone (540-868-9220) with several dates in mind for your potential retreat. We will look for open dates on the calendar that fit your desired dates. Once the dates for your retreat are found, we will send a use agreement. Email the completed Schedule Form (on the last page of the use agreement) and mail the deposit check. Once we have the completed the Schedule Form and deposit, the retreat is confirmed.

Groups scheduling a retreat must arrange for their own Retreat Master and for priests to celebrate the Sacraments during their retreat. San Damiano is not responsible for finding Priests for retreat groups.

San Damiano accommodates personal private retreats. Availability for personal private retreats varies according to whatever group retreats are scheduled. Please contact the Director (sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org) to arrange personal private retreat dates.

San Damiano does not have regularly scheduled Mass and Confession. During a personal private retreat, you may go to one of the 3 nearby parishes for daily Mass.

San Damiano does not have regularly scheduled Mass and Confession.

Sacred Heart of Jesus in Winchester - 11.7 miles, 19 minutes
St. Bridget of Ireland in Berryville - 13.3 miles, 22 minutes
St. John the Baptist in Front Royal - 14.3 miles, 24 minutes

San Damiano has a commercial kitchen and prepares all meals during retreats.

San Damiano tries to accommodate food sensitivities and allergies to the best of our ability. Please tell the person coordinating your retreat about any food allergies/sensitivities. If you have severe or unusual food allergies or dietary needs, please consider bringing your own food. We have refrigerators and microwaves for storing and reheating food.

Bring what you would normally bring to a hotel. We provide linens and towels.

San Damiano has the Our Lady of Angels Chapel. It is always open for prayer, meditation, and adoration of our Lord in the Tabernacle.

Even though some of our rooms have 2 beds in them, we do not ordinarily allow retreatants to share a room unless they are already living in the same house. For example a husband and wife can share a room, but 2 friends (no matter how close) who do not live together cannot share a room.

San Damiano follows all the COVID precautions as promulgated by the Diocese of Arlington.

Retreat costs depend on the length of stay and are subject to change. Please contact the Director (sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org) for pricing information.

We have limited resources for assisting those who are in true financial hardship and cannot afford the full price of attending a retreat. Please contact the Director (sandamiano@arlingtondiocese.org) to discuss your circumstances.

Deacon Mark Maines has been the Director of San Damiano since September 2018.

Fr. John Riley is assigned as the Spiritual Director at San Damiano. He has been a priest for over 30 years, serving in the Arlington Diocese, in Denver, and beyond.  He has taught and led hundreds of conferences, missions, and retreats for priests, religious sisters, and laity around the country and as far afield as Calcutta, India.  His first love is helping people find Jesus Christ by "treasuring and pondering" the Gospels in deep quiet prayer.  Carmelite Spirituality and the life and experiences of St. Therese of Lisieux are a particular focus in his spiritual conferences and endeavors.

To contact him email retreat@sacredheartwinchester.org

Contact Fr. John Riley at retreat@sacredheartwinchester.org to discuss potential spiritual direction.