August 16, 2023

Retrouvaille marriage help program to be held Sept. 8-10

REGIONAL
Staff report

A groom and bride hold hands on their wedding day. (CNS file photo/Jon L. Hendricks) 

SPRINGFIELD – A retreat for married couples who are struggling or are on the verge of divorce is being held Sept. 8-10 in the Diocese of Springfield. The Retrouvaille retreat, which is completely confidential, provides tools to help couples communicate better, resolve conflicts, and rediscover why they fell in love.

“When we had few places to turn, Retrouvaille saved our marriage and our family,” said Russ Held. He and his wife Kathy are the coordinators for the Retrouvaille Program in western Massachusetts and Connecticut.

“It gave us hope when we had very little. We built on that until we got back on our feet and I can’t imagine what our lives would be like now. The easy part might have been to give up on everything, but we’ve found it was worth every effort we made to save our marriage,” Russ said.

The couple recently celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary and are active members of St. Michael Parish in East Longmeadow.

“At the time we went through our crisis, Russ and I had three children under the age of seven. Attending the Retrouvaille weekend, we were introduced to communication techniques and heard stories from presenting couples that gave us hope,” said Kathy Held.

Retrouvaille is a Christian-based ministry for married men and women who are on the brink of divorce. Catholic in origin, Retrouvaille has three components, including a weekend retreat led by a priest and three couples who have overcome conflict in their own marriage; 12 follow-up sessions; and monthly support meetings called CORE, or Continuing Our Retrouvaille Experience.

 “Our kids were our why (save the marriage) and Retrouvaille’s program gave us the how. We feel incredibly blessed to be on the other side volunteering our time to help couples realize that they too can rebuild a happy marriage,” Kathy said.

St. Joseph is the patron saint of the program.

For more information, call (800)470-2230 or email helds4marriage@gmail.com. All inquiries are confidential.