About Us Villa Maria Center is an interfaith retreat and conference center sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters for the purpose of assisting people in their spiritual and personal search for God. The center hosts retreats and meetings for visiting groups and offers its own programs and retreats as well as spiritual direction. The center, approximately 90 minutes from Minneapolis/St. Paul by car, is a haven of peace, prayerfulness and sacred space, overlooking the sandstone bluffs of the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin. Outdoor activities are plentiful on the Villa's 70 acres which include woods, prairies and meadows. The Center adjoins Frontenac State Park, with miles of trails for walking or cross country skiing, and overlooks Wells Creek, a spring fed stream and marsh. While at the Villa, guests may explore historic Old Frontenac and admired the view of Lake Pepin from the Florence Township Beach. We are located
between Frontenac State Park and Lake City on County Road 2 (map)
From Italy the order rapidly spread throughout Europe and later to the other continents, arriving on our shores in 1727, where their history became seemingly tied to the Mississippi River. From New Orleans, Louisiana their ministry started, and traveled north to St. Louis, Missouri, and Alton, Illinois. In 1877, a group traveled to Lake City Minnesota at the request of Father Francis Quinn. Within three years the sisters had established a school for girls. Since the Mississippi widens to form a natural lake here, Lake Pepin, the school was aptly named Academy of Our Lady of the Lake. In less than five years, 1883, enrollment exceeded capacity of the original academy building, a remodeled house. A new and larger facility was required. At that same time General Israel Garrard, a member of an aristocratic family from Kentucky, had founded a hunting lodge at Frontenac and acquired several hundred acres of forest land skirting Lake Pepin.
The boarding school flourished for 78 years, drawing students from around the world to this center of education. It was a cherished school for many girls until early one morning in March of 1969, when a lightning strike lit the Villa tower ablaze and reduced the four story, stately structure to ashes. A decision was made to close the academy, but a new and different life rose from the ashes. The nuns first provided religious instruction for local area parishes. Later, with the inspiration and help of Lutheran Pastor Ham Muus, they began an ecumenical retreat center. The determination and dedication of the Frontenac Ursulines generated the current ministry called Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center. As timeless as the river, the Ursuline Sisters continue to profoundly affect the lives of many people. In 2001, the Ursuline Sisters established a new corporation, Villa Maria Retreat and Conference Center, Inc., locally governed by a Board of Trustees. The Ursuline Sisters maintain ownership and influence the ministry through sponsorship and board membership. Sr. Rose Elsbernd, FSPA, has been the Retreat Center director since 2001. For more information on the Ursuline Sisters visit our province website at www.osucentral.org
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