In a world defined by relentless connectivity, algorithmic distraction, and a deep-seated hum of collective anxiety, the human spirit is crying out for sanctuary.
Now more than ever, places like Bonnevaux—our contemplative retreat centre nestled in the quiet French countryside—offer a vital refuge. Silence and solitude are not merely the absence of noise; they are fertile ground where we rediscover our innate capacity for inner peace, clarity, and wholeness.
As we look ahead, Bonnevaux invites you to step away from the noise of daily life and enter into sacred rhythms of meditation, reflection, and community.
Registrations are now open. Additional retreats will be added soon.
2027 Retreats
Deep Silent Retreat
For those who are already practising meditation, this retreat offers a unique opportunity to join with other practitioners and go to a deeper and simpler place—together in solitude into the ‘great silence’. With eight daily periods of meditation, contemplative walking, and personal guidance, it is a full silence and a loving, friendly experience of what the silence reveals. Many find it re-simplifies them and reminds them of their innate capacity for inner peace and clarity.
- Dates: 30 January – 7 February, 2027
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Leader: Fr Laurence Freeman
Benedictine Monk & WCCM Spiritual Director
Icon Painting Course
Bonnevaux invites you to participate in this year’s Holy Week cycle, from the Palm Sunday procession to witnessing sunrise on Easter morning. Grounded in the community’s daily meditation, participants take a further step each day into the myth and reality of the last days of Jesus and his transformation of failure into resurrection and fullness of life, all while sharing in the daily life and work of the community.
- Dates: 20 – 28 February, 2027
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Leader: Hannah Leena-Ward
Finnish-born British iconographer with a Master’s degree in Sacred Arts
Holy Week Retreat
Bonnevaux invites you to participate in this year’s Holy Week cycle, from the Palm Sunday procession to witnessing sunrise on Easter morning. Grounded in the community’s daily meditation, participants take a further step each day into the myth and reality of the last days of Jesus and his transformation of failure into resurrection and fullness of life, all while sharing in the daily life and work of the community.
- Dates: 20 – 28 March, 2027
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Leader: Fr Laurence Freeman
Benedictine Monk & WCCM Spiritual Director
“The Simplicity and Nakedness of Life”: Living into the Mystery of God with Meister Eckhart
Simplicity is something we crave in a stressed world. Guided by Meister Eckhart’s wisdom in conversation with Scripture, contemporary poets, and artists, this contemplative retreat invites participants to discover the “wayless way,” practice the power of emptiness, and embrace inner freedom from the power of “a single love.”
- Dates: 20 – 25 April, 2027
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Leader: Rev. Dr. Mark S. Burrows, PhD
Scholar, Poet, and Medieval Christianity Historian
Seeking the Wisdom of the Body in Treating Psychospiritual Ailments
This transformative Iyengar Yoga retreat bridges ancient yogic discipline with modern psychological and spiritual healing. Exploring how the body serves as a temple and diagnostic tool, participants use intentional breathwork and asana practice to alleviate anxiety, trauma, and psychospiritual exhaustion, restoring harmony between body, mind, and spirit.
- Dates: 11 – 16 June, 2027
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Leader: Fr Joe Pereira
Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher and founder of the Kripa Foundation
The English Mystics: A Tradition of Prayer and Counsel
Concentrating on English-language treatments of contemplation beginning with The Cloud of Unknowing, this retreat traces developments from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period. It highlights figures like Augustine Baker, Baron von Hugel, Abbot Chapman, Evelyn Underhill, and Ruth Burrows, focusing on the informal, direct personal teaching and mentoring traditions that give the contemplative calling a distinctively personal dimension.
- Dates: 22 – 27 June, 2027
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Dr. Rowan Williams
Former Archbishop of Canterbury & theologian
The Summer School
The Summer School allows us the space to immerse ourselves in the contemplative rhythm of Bonnevaux while enjoying diverse ways of learning and sharing in community. Talks, discussions, creative workshops. Space for solitude. Walks in the beautiful countryside. Good food and convivial times together. All this, woven in with our daily meditation periods, will help us reach a deeper silence, an energizing stillness and a happy simplicity.
- Dates: 11 - 18 July, 2027
- John Deane, Laurence Freeman, Briji Waterfield
"That's How the Light Gets In"... Reading the Bible with Leonard Cohen
Designed for those who long for a deeper spiritual life but struggle to connect with inherited images of God or traditional expressions of faith. Christian meditation offers a path from noise to silence and fear to love, inviting participants to rediscover faith as a living, transformative relationship rather than a set of abstract beliefs.
- Dates: 3 – 8 October, 2027
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Sean Goan
Scripture Scholar and Teacher
The Ever-Renewing, Breathing Life of All — A Retreat with the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer
Experience chanting, moving, and meditating with the words of the Aramaic Prayer of Jesus alongside the originator of this work. Combining simple chanting with contemplative, body-based awareness, this retreat offers a direct connection through vibration, sound, and breath to the indigenous spirituality of the Middle East.
- Dates: 2 – 7 November, 2027
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Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz
Writer, Researcher, and Middle Eastern Spirituality Specialist
Being on the Way: Deepening Your Meditation
Delving into John Main’s teaching that “the only important thing is to be on the way,” this retreat features talks, discussions, and one-to-one meetings set at a leisurely pace. Framed around regular community meditation and meals, it includes a dedicated full day of extended silence to touch into greater depths.
- 16 – 21 November, 2027
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Leader: Liz Watson
Meditation Teacher and Spiritual Direction
Spread the Word
Photo Sources:
Deep Silent Retreat, AI-edited – original image taken at Bonnevaux Centre for Peace; Icon Painting Course, AI-generated;
Mark Burrows’ Retreat by Lexi Laginess on Unsplash; Rowan Williams’ retreat, AI-generated; Sean Goan’s Retreat by Liana S on Unsplash, Neil Douglas-Klotz’s retreat from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access Photo Library
