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The Spiritual Exercises are all the best that I have been able to think out, experience and understand in this life, both for helping somebody to make the most of themselves, as also for being able to bring advantage, help and profit to many others.
- St Ignatius of Loyola
The Spiritual Exercises are the core of the spirituality of the Society of Jesus, shared with the world through Ignatian spirituality (as many know it). But even in the 16th century, St Ignatius of Loyola knew that undertaking the Spiritual Exercises in a condensed form, spending many hours per day in prayer, was not possible for many people. So, he made provision, written down in the 19th Annotation to his Exercises, that allowed people to spend a shorter period in prayer each day over a longer period of time. This has become known as doing the Spiritual Exercises in daily life (or the 19th Annotation).
At the same time, givers of the Exercises have noticed that for some people, doing the Exercises in a residential retreat centre such as St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre can also be beneficial. But completing the Exercises in a single block of thirty days is particularly difficult for some – especially for those with work or family commitments. That is why, a few years ago, the Jesuit Institute worked out an alternative – the Hybrid Spiritual Exercises. This blends many of the benefits of the 19th Annotation with the benefits derived from attending 2 (shorter) silent retreats in a residential retreat centre. By developing this form of the Exercises, our team are trying to make them available to those who might have discerned a deep desire to do them, but not been sure how to practically complete them given other commitments.
The Hybrid Spiritual Exercises is for anyone who is serious about deepening their relationship with the God who loves them and wishing to take a deep dive into discerning how that God is calling them at whatever point in life they are at: discerning their way in life, considering a change of direction, retirement from paid work. The particular focus on Jesus and the invitation to know him better is always one of the great gifts of this retreat. In the last few years, we have seen participants from different faith denominations, from various parts of the country, and from different backgrounds, occupations and age brackets – they come together with the same fundamental desire to grow closer to Jesus.
The Hybrid Spiritual Exercises were probably the most important thing I've ever done in my life. It was incredibly helpful in knowing myself; who I am to God and who I am in Christ. The skills learnt and gifts received were too numerous to mention and I'm already using them every single day…
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The experience was and remains deeply significant for me. I sense God is still at work in me at many levels - conscious and unconscious. It also continues to resonate with my outer life in the world.
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It provided a valuable resource for personal growth, and opened up experiences and perspectives both novel and for revisiting and revue of earlier spiritual experience. As a non-Catholic I found the course , its facilitators and the house religious life like being warmly welcomed into another's home.
‘It's such a good way of making these Exercises of Saint Ignatius,’ says Stephen Hoyland, who guided participants through the Hybrid a few years ago. ‘It still includes two residential periods at particularly sensitive moments in the Exercises. It has that daily life component which helps the integration of the experience into the rest of life, and although each retreatant is making their own retreat accompanied by their director, they are supported by the group as a whole who come together for the residentials, and in opening and closing online gatherings. As one of the guides on Hybrid last year I loved the experience of working with two retreatants for the whole of the six months, meeting weekly online (and sometimes even in person), and then having that more intensive full-on immersion during the residentials. The group dynamic on the residentials was also a joy.'
Whichever way you complete the Exercises, they are a serious undertaking and applying for the Exercises needs to be deeply considered and discerned, but rest assured that our team in reviewing your application will help you make the best decision for you. There are no ‘prerequisites’ – although a commitment to your prayer life and your relationship with God is a must.
I would thoroughly recommend the Hybrid version of the Spiritual Exercises. Ensure that you have the time to commit to the process fully and that, if you work, you can fit the exercises around that without too much compromise. The more you invest and give of yourself, the more you get out of it.
Applications for 2026 intake are now open. You can find the full details of the timetable with the application form on our website, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, we will be happy to help.
Not sure if the Full Spiritual Exercises is the right thing for you at the moment? We also offer Online Individually Guided Retreats and other types of online retreat to help you make space for prayer and reflection.
The Jesuit Institute team are particularly grateful to the Manresa House Jesuit Community for hosting the residential components, to all our participants and those who have guided them.
