A Weekend with the Holy Spirit: Spiritual Exercises in the Heart of Manhattan
Amid Manhattan’s growing Catholic revival, 38 young adults stepped into two days of silence and discernment at the historic St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Soho.
At Old St. Pat’s, the Regnum Christi charism meets a new generation of New Yorkers hungry for hope, mercy, and deeper spiritual grounding. On the weekend of March 14–15, the historic basilica hosted spiritual exercises for a group of 38 young adults.
“The spiritual exercises are an annual opportunity Regnum Christi offers us to leave the world for three to eight days and give ourselves fully to the company of the Lord. They represent a stop on the journey to attend to the one who walks with us, to listen to him, to discern his will, to be reconciled in his sight and to revive the fire of his love that impels us to give ourselves to others.”
A 48-hour experience of the Holy Spirit
Fr. Jorge Obregón was part of the team of Legionary priests who supported the spiritual exercises at Old St. Pat’s with preaching, spiritual directions, and confession, along with Fr. Daniel Ray, Fr. Mark Haydu, Fr. Josef Hare, and Fr. Francisco Sunderland, all members of the LC community in Rye, New York. And as the RC young adult ministry director and chaplain, Fr. Jorge has insight into what draws young people—and indeed Catholics of all ages—to the spiritual exercises, a meditation journey that dates back to the mid-1500s.
“The spiritual exercises give a very deep foundation to our worldview as Catholics, and the exercises resonate, and will always resonate, simply because you’re giving the Holy Spirit a lot of time to speak to you. We're making efforts for silence, and the Lord always rewards every little effort that we make to come closer to him, to go deeper, to understand his mission and his design for us. In the exercises, we try to become more ‘inner’ people.”
And what is it in particular that young people are seeking in the spiritual exercises, which Fr. Jorge calls a “48-hour experience of the Holy Spirit”? According to Fr. Jorge, it’s hope and mercy.
“Young people today are seeking hope, because I believe that in recent times, the world has sucked the hope out of the new generation. And they’re seeking mercy. With so much sin around us and so many challenges in living the life of grace, many people, not just young adults, feel that their sin cannot be forgiven. They need to be reminded that with Christ, there should never be despair.”
The Holy Spirit is moving in Manhattan
In August of 2025, the Legionaries of Christ were assigned the Basilica of Old St. Pat’s, and in December, Fr. Daniel Ray was installed as pastor at the historic church, the first cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York. Originally primarily serving the Irish immigrant population, the basilica has become one of the central parishes for young professionals in Manhattan, and is also home to Spanish and Italian communities.
And these days, Old St. Pat’s is one of three Manhattan parishes seeing a resurgence in Mass attendance, particularly among college students and young professionals. Along with St. Joseph’s in Greenwich Village and St. Vincent Ferrer on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, at Old St. Pat’s, young people are showing up in droves to sometimes standing-room-only Masses, and OCIA numbers have nearly doubled from previous years. This year at Old St. Pat’s, 70 people were confirmed at the Easter Vigil, up from 40 the year before.
Many of those attending the overflowing Masses at Old St. Pat’s are fallen-away Catholics who are returning to the faith of their childhood after several years, Fr. Daniel told the National Catholic Register in an article on the Catholic boom in Manhattan. But some are people who have grown up in another denomination or non-Christian religion, or were raised without any faith at all.
“They’re having everything that they could humanly want,”
“except they’re missing God from their life.”
In fact, at Old St. Pat’s, they’ve had to add another Sunday evening Mass to accommodate the rising attendance. And they also offer many opportunities for community at the parish, from wine socials and barbecues to Bible studies and weekly waltz dancing. And this year, Old St. Pat’s hosted spiritual exercises on site.
“These spiritual exercises were open to the whole parish, and so for me, it was beautiful to see how we can bring the Regnum Christi charism to so many young adults here in New York City. I don't believe it's a coincidence that our Lord arranged it that we would be able to have such an amazing platform as this basilica right now at this time. Young adults are coming back to the Church in record numbers, and our charism is uniquely created to meet them where they are right now in this culture.”
“But sometimes we need to bring the Gospel and the retreat right to where they are!”
Click here to find out more about Regnum Christi spiritual exercises or find a retreat near you.
You can listen to Fr. Daniel’s homilies from Old St. Pat’s on the Regnum Christi App and at rcnytristate.org. Learn more about Regnum Christi NY Tri-State here.
The mission of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi in New York is broad, serving the needs of the Church with the RC Charism in diverse ways. Other ministries include serving as chaplain for Seton Fellows, university graduates who offer one to two years of service as educators for children in underserved communities through charter schools located primarily in the Bronx; running Three to Get Married, a marriage preparation program offered twice a year; retreats for men and women as well as retreats and conventions aimed specifically at young adults; and the Lumen Institute, a Catholic organization for business and societal leaders who seek personal development in character, faith, and leadership. Learn more about the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi on our websites.
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