Each year, more and more women are choosing to step away from the noise of everyday life and treat the annual Women’s Lenten Retreat as a kind of pilgrimage.
What began as a single retreat day has now grown so significantly that in 2026, organisers have had to open two retreat dates to make room for all those who wish to attend.
“Last year we had 700; this year across the two events we’re close to 1,000 women,” says Hazel Lim, mission manager from the Life, marriage, and family team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation. Hazel believes the surge in interest is a profound expression of what St John Paul II called the genius of women, especially the gift of receptivity.
“St John Paul II in Mulieris Dignitatem talks about women having the gift of receptivity, and that’s intrinsic in us,” Hazel reflects. “Whether we exercise it or not, whether we know it or not, it’s innate in us, and there is a real yearning for us to be able to receive an intimate love that comes from our Lord.”
In a world where women are constantly pouring themselves out, for families, workplaces, parishes, and communities, the retreat offers a space where they can finally stop, rest, and receive.
“We give so much as women, that we also need to receive. And I think these retreats respond to that yearning, this deep yearning of women being able to receive God’s love so that we’re able to give again and give more! That’s who we are and how we’re made,” reflected Hazel.
The Women’s Lenten Retreat is not simply another event on the calendar. It is a full day intentionally set apart for encounter with Christ.
“This retreat day, centred on ‘Seek His Face’ from Psalm 27, offers a meaningful opportunity this Lent to draw close to Christ, the One who loves you and has longed from eternity to spend this day with you,” said Sr Cecilia Joseph from the Dominican Sisters, who will lead the women through the retreat.
“Being able to dedicate a whole day of just being intimate with our Lord, first of all, takes courage,” Hazel says. “It takes a woman all her boldness and openness to prioritise and say yes to that, but also just to open her heart, that’s a yes as well. But when we say yes, just like our Blessed Mother’s fiat, then we receive so much love from the Lord, and we’re able to give back.”
The retreat is deliberately Lenten in character: a time of stripping back, surrendering, and allowing God to heal and renew.
“Because this is a Lenten retreat, it’s also a day of intentionally emptying ourselves and surrendering to the Lord to fill us up, offer whatever wounds, emptiness we are feeling and allowing him to use us in a way to serve others,” she says.
The day is marked not only by prayer and teaching, but by the powerful presence of other women walking the same path of faith.
“It’s the sharing of our stories, the sharing of our experiences, talking about our challenges in day-to-day life as a woman, as a mother, as a sister, that is what we need,” Hazel explains.
A central feature of the retreat is the presence of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia, whose charism and witness help shape the day.
“The Dominican Sisters have got a charism of teaching, and they teach in a way where it really touches our feminine hearts,” Hazel says. “They are used as a mouthpiece to proclaim God’s love and remind us that he is always with us.”
Sr Cecilia sees a deeper movement of the Holy Spirit at work in women’s ministry across the archdiocese.
“The retreat has grown into an intergenerational gathering, with women bringing mothers, aunts, and sisters. Invite a friend who could use encouragement – whatever helps them on their journey toward healing, joy, and the peace found only in Jesus,” she said.
Hazel notes that “there is an openness and a yearning from women to discover more and to grow deeper into their faith.”
“I think we’re seeing an increase in a culture of invitation,” she observes. “There’s a shift where women who are experiencing the joy and love of God are boldly sharing it with other people, other women.”
The day will feature guest speakers including Vivian Mourani, Tinah DeLuca-Tohi, Sr Anastasia OP, Sr Susanna OP as well as an opportunity for Eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of Reconciliation and a Catholic Expo.
The CAS Women’s Lenten Retreat is led by the Dominican Sisters and hosted by the Catholic Women’s Network and Sydney Catholic Schools. The first retreat was held on 28 February and another one will be held on Saturday 14 March 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral. To register go to: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1512621
