River Road walkway completes “A Closer Walk with Thee”

One of the things many men do during their three-day retreat at Manresa is to walk the grounds. Some walk while they pray or meditate, some walk to counteract all those delicious meals they serve us at Manresa, and some walk simply to appreciate the surroundings. But until a year or two ago when the new River Road walkway across the front of the property was developed, there was no mid-length walking circuit that was entirely paved. In the past, each walking route was either very short, very long, unpaved, or out-and-back. Because this 15 to 20 minute walking route effectively hugs the perimeter of all the buildings at Manresa at a gentle distance, retreatants are never more than a hop, a skip, and a jump away from shelter from a sudden storm or relief from the summer sun. It is for this reason that we refer here to the route as “A Closer Walk with Thee”.

THE PRESIDENT’S HOUSE

Starting point - The President’s House (LEFT) was previously used by the president of Jefferson College, which preceded Manresa House of Retreats. Behind it, the building (RIGHT) that was formerly used by the house’s caretaker now includes a meditation chapel.

Start your walk at the President’s House. Completed in 1838, it is the oldest building on the Manresa campus. It can be found on River Road, just upriver from St. Mary’s Hall. Before the Jesuits bought Jefferson College and it became Manresa House of Retreats in 1931, this handsome structure was originally used by the president of the college. For this reason, the building is popularly known as the “President’s House”.

It is a two-story white brick building featuring tall Doric columns that stretch the full height of the building without interruption. Gabled dormers adorn the slate roof, and a handsome balustrade graces the full-width first floor porch, and the balcony above.

In 1982, the building was renovated and and renamed St. Ignatius House of Prayer. It is now used for directed retreats, and people who use the house are occasionally seen coming and going.

Behind the house is a covered well and a small cottage. Inside the cottage is a small chapel which many Manresa men have visited during their retreat.

On the downriver side of the house is a white brick wall. Follow the sidewalk across the front of the President’s House, and you will reach an opening in the brick wall. If your curiosity does not lead you there, or if your well-worn legs will not carry you there, allow the remainder of this article to take you there, to continue “A Closer Walk with Thee”.

THE RIVER ROAD WALKWAY

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Open invitation - The entrance to the River Road walkway, as seen from the President’s House.

Cross walk - The River Road walkway at Manresa leads across the front of the campus from the President’s House (LEFT), past the front gates (CENTER), to Jefferson Drive (RIGHT).

Many retreatants have already taken advantage of the new River Road walkway at Manresa, which is located just inside the front fence. When used in conjunction with the adjacent areas, this sidewalk completes the newly circuitous route.

Beginning at the opening in the brick wall at the President’s House, the walkway immediately turns, then angles sharply toward River Road. Just before it reaches the brick and iron fence along the front of the property, it begins to run parallel with the road.

As you reach the center of Manresa’s expansive front lawn, you will notice to your right a short paved spur that leads to the front gates of the property. Some retreatants use this path to access the rows of oaks across the street, and to reach the levee and the batture beyond. To your left, Manresa’s twin porter lodges frame the beautiful front-and-center view of St. Mary’s Hall that every camera must capture.

Just a bit further, the road swerves a bit, as does the walkway. At that point, look to the left to see the Sacred Heart Chapel beneath the moss-laden branches of the ever-spreading oaks. Go a stone’s throw further, and you reach Jefferson Drive.

JEFFERSON DRIVE

Come follow me - Jefferson Drive (LEFT) leads from the service entrance at Manresa, past rows of oaks, the Sacred Heart Chapel, a grove of fig trees (RIGHT), the administration building, and beyond.

Jefferson Drive is the street that you used to enter Manresa upon arrival. Located near the downriver side of the campus, the paved road stretches from River Road to an inviting meditative area beyond Xavier Hall. Some maintenance buildings and equipment sit unobtrusively behind a tall wooden fence at the end of the street.

Most of the length of Jefferson Drive is shaded to one side by a row of oak trees that were planted in 1961. As you begin to travel its length, you notice the sunlight playing in the branches of the trees. Birds sing and swoop, and squirrels scamper all the while. You soon pass the Sacred Heart Chapel, and then Manresa's administrative building. Just between the administrative building and Xavier Hall you will spot a grove of fig trees whose fruit is preserved and served to appreciative retreatants on the breakfast table.

Just past the administrative building, there is another street to your left that offers several options by which you can complete “A Closer Walk with Thee”. You can either take a left across the front of Xavier Hall, walk through the shaded alley of the Plassard Oaks, take the sidewalk just before you reach St. Peter Canisius Hall, or else just stay on the street you are already on, which will bring you directly back to the President’s House.

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