Frequently Asked Questions

What is unique about Sacred Ground’s Spiritual Direction Training program?

For nearly 30 years, Sacred Ground’s Spiritual Direction Formation and Training Program has trained spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition. Our faculty bring wide and varied experiences and gifts in both spiritual direction and in teaching. The three-year program offers students continued support as they integrate classroom learning, discern their calling, and develop their capabilities as spiritual directors within a small cohort of supportive peers. After graduation, the Sacred Ground membership continues to support spiritual directors through peer supervision groups and continued educational opportunities.

What is Ignatian Spirituality?

Ignatian spirituality is founded on the experiences of the sixteenth-century Spanish mystic and priest Ignatius of Loyola and what has become the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Ignatian Spirituality is apostolic, rather than monastic—inviting us to offer our gifts and service outward, to our neighbors and the world. We become “contemplatives in action.” We are always invited to deeper love, abundant life, and spiritual freedom.

Grounded in God’s love for us, Ignatian Spirituality invites us to partner with God to make this love visible in the world around us. Ignatian Spirituality is experiential, focused on our experience of God in our prayer, in scripture, and in our every day, ordinary lives. Ignatian spirituality invites us to pay attention to what gives life and what drains life from us. In this practice, we discover how we are being invited to share our particular gifts with the world around us.

Do I need to be Catholic or Christian to be a part of Sacred Ground’s Spiritual Direction Formation and Training Program?

Any person who is in relationship with the Holy and is discerning a call to a ministry of deep, compassionate, non-judgmental listening is welcome to be a part of Sacred Ground’s program. We are a Christian program, and our texts and prayers will generally come from within the Christian tradition. While Ignatian spirituality is rooted in Catholic tradition, it is universal in scope. Our program is ecumenical—open to and welcoming all Christian denominations. Our faculty and students reflect this diversity.

As a student, why is it important to be in spiritual direction?

We believe that it is important for someone discerning a call to spiritual direction ministry to have experience receiving spiritual direction for at least one year before joining our program. The discernment process continues throughout a student’s time in the program, and a spiritual director is a valuable support in this process.

We believe that it is vital for practicing spiritual directors to be in spiritual direction themselves. The commitment to deep listening, to living in relationship with the Holy, to continued discernment, and to caring for one’s soul and spirit is essential the spiritual health of spiritual directors. Seeing a spiritual director is an important part of this commitment and care for practicing and aspiring spiritual directors.

Here is a list of our current spiritual directors.

What if I do not live in the Twin Cities area?

Our hybrid program provides students outside the metropolitan area to do most of the program online while still having some face-to-face experiences within a learning cohort. Travel to the Twin Cities will be required 2-3 weekends per semester. On-site accommodations at Carondolet Center are available. Details will be provided in new students’ materials.

What is Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality?

The Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality was founded in 1996 by spiritual directors trained by the Cenacle Sisters in Wayzata, Minnesota. Sacred Ground has trained hundreds of spiritual directors since then and continues to support its spiritual directors through peer supervision groups in the Twin Cities area. Sacred Ground members support our ongoing ministry to provide additional educational and retreat opportunities for deepening faith and connection with the Holy. Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality is located in the Carondelet Center near the campus of Saint Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Intrigued, but not ready?

We are currently accepting applications for our next cohort, beginning in September of 2024.

Committing to our Spiritual Director Formation and Training Program will require a process of discernment. Consider meeting with one of our spiritual directors, joining us for our monthly Groundings, or talking with our Program Coordinator to help you discern whether Sacred Ground is the right fit at this time in your life.

In the meantime, the Extended Ignatian Exercises, a requirement for our program, are an especially powerful experience of discernment. While it’s not necessary to have completed the Ignatian Exercises before beginning our program, it would be beneficial, transformative, and a wonderful way to ground your experience with Sacred Ground.

Please contact Program Coordinator, Jessica Sanborn at jessica.sanborn@sacredgroundspirit.org for questions and assistance with the Extended Ignatian Exercises or the Spiritual Direction Formation Training Program or application process.