October 2026

Dear friend,

From October 14 to 20, our fourth annual Centering Prayer retreat will be held at Anawim Bethany Retreat Center in Frenchville, Pennsylvania, a joint venture made possible through our partnership with Contemplative Outreach’s Prison Outreach Service Team (COPOST). For seven days, participants will share silence, simple meals, beautiful grounds, and several hours of Centering Prayer each day, supported by the team you met in August: Rita Weick, Jennie K. Curtis, and Patricia Hutchinson. We’re so grateful to again be in a position to host this retreat. 

Retreat, like the practice of Centering Prayer itself, is really challenging to talk about. indeed, it’s humorous what an exercise in frustration it can be, trying to put words to what lies so inherently beyond the ideas and concepts words excel at conveying. If only I could write a silent eBulletin!

What I long for more than anything to express is the connection I know I’m not alone in finding whenever and wherever I’m able to share what Keating calls the spiritual journey. Retreat is a rare and precious opportunity to do that, but that which is being shared is not different on retreat than it is on a Wednesday night Zoom gathering, on a Monday morning Circle inside the prison, nor even what happens when I sit by myself on my cushion or when I savor words on a page written by another who seeks the same unspeakable reality.

Paradox abounds: the reality is everywhere and always accessible, and, at the same time, it is an incredible gift and privilege to be able to set aside time with others who have also explicitly set aside time, leaving behind worries, ambitions, responsibilities, for the sake of just being. Not just for twenty minutes, but for a whole week. For many people – indeed, for many of you reading this, retreat remains out of reach. I hope, pray, and trust there have been and will be opportunities for you to attend in-person retreats.

It’s because we believe in the importance of this kind of “deep dive” into Silence that Praestolari’s board has consistently prioritized funding these retreats, making the opportunity available without financial burden for those who would otherwise not be able to attend. Airfare and other transportation costs, lodging, meals, retreat fees – all manner of tangible support is made possible through the generosity of those in our community who are able and willing to contribute in this meaningful way. Each of us who makes our way to Frenchville later this month will be there both because of our own deeply personal commitment to the practice, and also because people we may never meet give their own practice-sustaining “yes” to help make this retreat possible. 

And there’s a beautiful reality for which I have no words: without so much as getting in a car or boarding an airplane, there’s a very real sense in which those who are not physically present can be there, too.



One person who will be joining this year without his body in the room is our friend Phil, aka Frenchy. Phil attended our very first retreat, held at Snowmass in January of 2023, and quickly came to value the practice of making an annual retreat. When I asked him why, he found words ready at hand: “it’s fellowship, community and total spiritual recharge”. Phil joined us remotely last year, while recovering from a stroke; this year, his recent neck surgery keeps him close to home. But Phil’s story is a beautiful manifestation of what our week of silence is about, so it felt right to share a bit more of it in this month's eBulletin.

From the God of Punishment to the God of Love

(~31 minutes)

Phil Darghty, known to many as Frenchy, spent 32 years in the California state prison system. 16 of them were at Folsom, where he was one of the founding members of what is surely the longest running Centering Prayer group inside a locked facility (it’s met continuously – except during COVID – since the mid 1990s). Some of you already know Phil from various events or from the videos he has recorded with Contemplative Outreach, where he puts it simply: "Centering Prayer was my salvation." We recently had the chance to sit down with him again, which also prompted us  to revisit two conversations he recorded a few years ago, with COPOST. 

In the mid 1990s, a friend on his tier told Frenchy he would be joining a new Centering Prayer group that was starting. About 75 men showed up, sat down together in a circle, and closed their eyes. "I'm sitting on the back wall waiting for something to jump off," he remembers, "and nothing jumped off." Today he's one of the founding members of Outside the Walls, and his advice is simple: "The biggest thing is, it works. If you take the time to do it, you'll find new answers – or, a new way of looking at things. That’s what happened to me. I found new ways of looking at things and my outlook totally changed, without my really being aware of it."

Frenchy on the Effects of Centering Prayer Inside the Walls: How Silence Can Transform Your Life 
(~21 minutes)

Frenchy and Lawrence on the Method of Centering Prayer Inside the Walls
(~31 minutes)

In one of his videos, Frenchy remembers the outside sponsor group that met at the same time as the Folsom group, on Monday nights. "They made sure that they were in Centering Prayer at the same time," he says, "and there was a very real connection between the two groups."

As I pack my bags and prepare to head to Frenchville, I feel very aware of how fortunate I am to be able to go. At the same time, I am full of gratitude for the connection that transcends time and space. The longer I practice the prayer, the more often I catch glimpses of the underlying reality that the connection between us escapes description for good reason. It is a participation in something greater than ourselves, beyond geography and physical presence, beyond time. 

I pray that each member of our Praestolari community continue to do in our own way what Phil so beautifully does in his: embrace the unity found in the practice. We offer these glimpses into Frenchy’s story with hope it might add depth and value for you – nourishment on the  journey. 

We also offer Phil (with his permission, of course) as one of several OTW members who are more than happy to connect with those who are newer to the practice.  He’s a regular attendee at both the Sunday Outside the Walls (OTW) and the Wednesday “OTW and Friends” Centering Prayer groups. Just reply to this email for more information and help getting connected if:

• you know someone coming home from prison who practiced Centering Prayer inside, was trying to learn it, or wants to start a practice now – they're most welcome at the Sunday OTW group… or, if
• you or anyone who is or would like to be part of the growing, wall-transcending Praestolari community would like to attend the Wednesday “OTW and Friends” group.

What is more life-giving than to consent, day-by-day, individually and collectively, to being transformed?  Wherever we are geographically, whatever the challenges life holds in this season, we’re each invited to participate by intention in this month’s retreat!

Chandra Hanson, Executive Director

on behalf of the Praestolari team

On its way: 
Centering Inside


The fall issue of Centering Inside, Volume 3, Number 3, will soon be on its way to readers inside, arriving (we hope) in early to mid October. This issue  seeks to invite the sharing wisdom, experience, questions and struggles by people practicing inside the walls – holding the simple truth that sometimes the person who helps us feel most understood is someone who can say, “I have been there, too”. (Frenchy would call that commonality.)

In her column, Mother Miriam shares a question from a reader who had been moved from one facility to another, again and again, and was surprised the newsletter kept reaching him: "How do you keep finding me?" Her answer speaks gentle volumes: "We find you because we keep looking."

Where possible, we have again included a postage paid reply postcard, to make it that much easier for readers to join the conversation. We are also explicitly inviting people to let us know if they'd prefer to receive Centering Inside in Spanish. If you know someone inside who receives it, a word of encouragement to send a postcard or a letter might be just what’s needed to prompt their willingness to share a nugget or a struggle with fellow travelers on the path. 

From Our Friends at Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition

We're delighted to be co-sponsoring the next webinar in the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)'s monthly learning series, Transformative Practices: Journaling and Centering Prayer, on Thursday, October 22 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. The webinar holds up Centering Prayer as one example of a transformational practice that can fruitfully be engaged in and shared by those called to serve in prison ministry. Tom Cook from Kolbe House Jail Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago will share about his experience supporting the practice of Centering Prayer in Cook County Jail, and one of the former participants of a group at the jail will speak about the impact the practice has had on his life.

CPMC is an organization we partner with regularly, including in 2021 when they hosted the very first screening of Holding Still, so we also want to share another of their offerings with you.

On Saturday, October 17, they will be hosting a day of prayer, reflection and renewal with Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, and Fr. Dustin Feddon. The topic revolves around being present: to God, to ourselves, and to those we accompany. In their words, "Together, we'll consider how we can become more attentive to God's presence, let go of what we cannot control, remain rooted in Christ, and recognize the grace already at work in the encounters we are given." This is not foreign territory for those engaging a Centering Prayer practice! All are welcome, even if the audience is likely to be largely made up of Catholic prison ministry volunteers. Let’s hope they'll be recording it (they usually do), since a number of us will be being present in the Silence, on retreat.

Our Mission

Journeying together as people affected by incarceration, Praestolari shares Centering Prayer meditation and foster connections to support healing and transformation, both personal and communal.

We support contemplative practice inside and beyond prison walls by:

• Making Centering Prayer resources widely accessible
• Strengthening communication and connection across the walls
• Accompanying practitioners as they return home from incarceration
• Co-sponsoring annual retreats with COPOST

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We place great value on all actions and intentions that align with our mission and help grow/support the community.

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Resources & Materials



Our goal is to share contemplative resources as broadly as possible. We send a variety of materials inside locked facilities—responding to direct requests from incarcerated individuals, supporting volunteers and chaplains who accompany Centering Prayer groups, and sharing resources through our partnership with the Human Kindness Foundation. Most of our materials are also available in Spanish. See some of our most requested materials below, and visit our website for more.

If you would like to receive books or DVDs, please contact us at hello@praestolari.org. Let us know if you are currently sharing Centering Prayer inside—or if you’re interested in learning how to get started.

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