Our Mission
"Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center provides a sacred place of peace and quiet and offers the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola to facilitate an encounter with God that leads to a willing and loving service of the least of our brothers and sisters (Matthew 25:31-46).”
Our History
1957
May 1957
Suzanne Spalding Schroder donates her home — 20 acres in north Atlanta — to the Society of Jesus for creation of a retreat house.
1959
Oct. 11, 1959
Bishop Hyland joins the Schroder family and the Jesuits to break ground on a 50-room retreat house.
1960
Dec. 18, 1960
The completed retreat house is formally dedicated with an outdoor Mass.
1961
Jan. 12, 1961
Ignatius House officially opens for its first retreat, consisting of 37 women and was dedicated to the memory of Suzanne Spalding Schroder.
1977
January 1977
Fr. John Schroder, SJ, son of the late Suzanne Spalding Schroder, returns to Atlanta following missionary work and becomes director of Ignatius House. During his tenure, retreat attendance increased through the recruitment of “retreat captains” who brought friends to weekend retreats.
1980
March 1980
Fr. Dan Partridge, SJ, becomes director of Ignatius House. He develops a “Blueprint for the Future” to expand nature trails, picnic areas, outdoor Stations of the Cross, and the goal of a new Chapel.
1982
August 1982
Fr. Kerry Clark, SJ, becomes director. He turns to a Catholic Singles Group (mostly from Christ the King parish) for help constructing paths, steps, and railings throughout the wooded areas.
1985
Jan Chernowski, an architect, designs a four-story, 1200-square-foot deck overlooking the Chattahoochee River in memory of her husband John.
1988
August 1988
Fr. George Wiltz, SJ, becomes director and appends the term “Jesuit Retreat Center” to the Ignatius House name.
December 1988
The small chapel is renovated, enlarged, and dedicated to the memory of Suzanne Spalding Schroder.
1989
Dolly Tuttle’s “Campaign for Growth” beautifies 20 acres with donated trees and azaleas in memory of a loved one. Gifts include statuary of Mary and Christ, four personal decks, and more.
1991
The 450th anniversary of the Society of Jesus, the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Ignatius, and the 30th year since the dedication of Ignatius House.
Fr. Wiltz forms an advisory board with Dennis Crean as the first chairman.
1993
Fr. Jim Babb, SJ, becomes director.
1997
Fr. Jack Vessels, SJ, becomes director. He begins a Wednesday email meditation.
2001
Dec. 17, 2001
A 150-foot cell tower, uniquely designed as an outdoor chapel, is dedicated by Archbishop Donoghue. The tower features 22 icons representing creation, Judaism and Christianity. The tile icons were designed by an artisan in Mexico — the neice of Fr. Jack Vessels.
2002
April 2, 2002
Robert J. “Bob” Fitzgerald becomes the first professional director of Ignatius House. He oversees a $1.5 M capital campaign to renovate the Schroder House, add a kitchen and dining room to the Retreat House, and deck. He formalizes a Board of Directors with David Fitzgerald at the first chairman.
2004
March 2004
Dennis and Marie Crean support a patio extension to create the “Garden of Living Water.”
2005
Sept. 5, 2005
The modern, glass-lined St. Ignatius Chapel is dedicated by Archbishop Wilton Gregory and concelebrated by former Archbishop John Donoghue with Jesuits Fr. Clyde LeBlanc, Neil Jarreau, and Al Louapre. The chapel was entirely funded by a gift from Alex & Betty Smith and designed by architect James Haverty Smith.
2007
Ignatius House begins retreats for homeless men and women as part of the national Ignatian Spirituality Project.
2009
September 2009
Maria Cressler is named executive director — the first female to lead Ignatius House.
2012
April 2012
Ignatius House donors erect an administrative building with meeting space, designed by Jimmy Haverty Smith of Perkins+Will and built by Benning Construction Co. The building is dedicated as the J. Robert Fitzgerald Resource Building in honor of the first layman executive director at Ignatius House.
2020
March 13, 2020
A national emergency, declared due to the novel COVID-19 global pandemic, causes Ignatius House to close for nearly three months. Donors generously offset the cost of closure, allowing Ignatius House to carefully adapt to new circumstances and re-open for modified retreats in June.
2023
December 2023
First Tending the Flame spiritual director cohort graduated (11)