FEATURE: SVHS Kairos at 100 – The Wide-Reaching Impact of One Retreat

Estimated read time: 6 min | click for audio read-aloud or scroll down to read

“65 kids went, knowing nothing about it. They were pioneers because they were open to saying ‘yes,’” Br. Rob Robertson, CSV said.

32 years ago, Br. Rob and Saint Viator High School students started something that has gone on to impact thousands of teens and counting. On April 8, 2025, Saint Viator will begin Kairos 100, the next chapter in a grace-filled, joyfully ongoing story.

Getting Started

Fr. Charlie Bolser, CSV was president of Saint Viator High School and served as chaplain for Kairos 1, and Fr. John Van Wiel, CSV was teaching chemistry when he was chaplain for Kairos 2 – but these retreats almost didn’t happen after tragedy halted the initial plans.

In the 1990-91 school year, Saint Viator junior Andrew Johnstone approached his campus minister, Br. Rob, with an idea: Andrew’s older brother had gone on a Kairos retreat, and he wanted to see if they could do one. Br. Rob said yes. “We were going to start it the next year – and then Andrew was killed in a car accident that summer. His classmates were heartbroken, and it was put on hold,” Br. Rob said.

After a year for grief and healing, Br. Rob gathered students the following year. They attended other communities’ retreats, and in March and April of 1993, they held the first two Kairos retreats.

Viatorians had experienced Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) retreats in Springfield, Illinois, but Kairos retreats brought something more. “We wanted students to be able to walk with the faculty and grow as leaders. I celebrated Mass and heard confessions on Kairos and watched with fascination,” Fr. Charlie recalled. “It brought a new level of spiritual sense to their experience.”

 

Branching Out Across the Province and Beyond

The following year, Br. Rob was assigned to Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. When he arrived, the campus ministers there – then-Br. Corey Brost, CSV and soon-to-be-Associate Karen Cutler – wanted to start Kairos, too.

Br. Rob provided them Saint Viator’s materials, and they arranged for their students to shadow the retreat – Br. Corey with the boys at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, and Karen with the girls at Salpointe High School in Tucson, Arizona. They came back and started Kairos, which has run continuously since, including a stint with Associate Kim Martinez as director.

Additionally, while then-Br. Dan Belanger, CSV was serving at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bourbonnais, Illinois, he wanted to help youth minister Patty Bailey start Kairos for the parish. Br. Dan brought teens from the parish up to Saint Viator retreats, and they then started Kairos at MBVM. With Viatorian support, Kairos came to Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools, too.

Viatorians from Saint Viator also assisted other religious in starting Kairos, including a religious sister at nearby St. James Parish and a religious priest who enlisted alumni to lead the first retreat in the Diocese of Gary.

Raising a Community Where Faith is Lived, Deepened, and Celebrated

So what’s Kairos all about? While the reputation can become mythic, the retreat is simple. It utilizes witness talks, small-group discussions, journaling, Sacraments and prayer, and intentional fellowship time. Carefully formed student leaders and their adult partners accompany participants seeking to more fully identify and understand God’s love.

Associate Kurt Paprocki, who teaches Spanish at Saint Viator, joins one retreat every year and understands the dynamic well. “Kairos isn’t meant to be a ‘life-altering experience’ where students go from ‘0 to 100’ in four days,” Kurt explains. “Students are invited to let their guard down and share and explore who they really are. Through this vulnerability, great spiritual sharing and growth can occur.”

Associate Karen Cutler, who now coordinates the Viatorian Youth Congress, loves how teens grow. “Kids come into high school similar to their parents in what they believe and how they are, but then they reexamine things more deeply for themselves,” Karen said. “They’re on the threshold of identifying what’s important to them, and Kairos helps them engage with parts of faith that they hadn’t experienced before.”

Fr. Van Wiel, a retired teacher and administrator, estimates he heard confessions on half of Saint Viator’s first 99 retreats, and he remembers how nearly everyone would go to a priest, usually for lengthy visits. “They needed someone to listen to them and know what they’re going through. Often, they didn’t mention anything that I’d consider a sin. It was just a way to give time to the student that they may never have taken otherwise,” Fr. Van Wiel said.

Moreover, he loved being a part of small groups with students. “As a teacher, it gives you a chance to encounter your students in a different way. The students can relate to you on a human level instead of solely as a teacher, and you gain an opportunity to relate to them beyond the classroom and understand more about their lives,” Fr. Van Wiel said.

Fr. John Eustice, CSV, has served multiple stints and roles at Saint Viator and appreciates Kairos’ context. “When else do we give ourselves four days to dive into being with other people and ask significant questions about our lives and God?” Fr. John said, noting many graduates say Kairos is their favorite memory while others bemoan not going as their biggest regret. “There’s something transformative that isn’t exactly quantifiable, but those who go recognize something significant. The Holy Spirit gets space to reach the soul of each person.”

The Lasting Impact

Teens practice vulnerability and discover resonance with peers that helps them feel less isolated and alone. “Kairos prompts teens to spend serious time exploring religious concepts, not least realizing the nature and depth of their parents’ love by sharing their own experiences and listening to peers. Often, this faith exploration helps them develop their family lives,” Fr. Van Wiel said, joyfully recalling the growth he has witnessed.

Students bring their growth back to school, and people notice. “They may come into Kairos thinking they’re the only ones facing something, but they emerge realizing all they hold in common with peers. That ripples out from Kairos, and as more kids go, the impact grows,” Karen explained. “This is what Kairos does for a parish or school: it helps open kids up more to each other’s lives and experiences.”

Moreover, it’s a renewing experience for the faithful adults who sacrifice four days to accompany students in this way. “Each year, Kairos gives me a much-needed boost. After each retreat I attend, I feel closer to where I want to be with my spiritual life. I can’t do this alone, and I feel grateful for the students who help me on my journey,” Kurt said.

On the cusp of Saint Viator’s 100th retreat, we celebrate how these students, leaders, and adults have proclaimed the Gospel to one another on retreat, and together raised communities of faith, from Arlington Heights to communities in Bourbonnais-Kankakee and Henderson-Las Vegas and into our future. Live the fourth!