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Spiritual retreat for married couples in Slovakia
Spiritual retreat for married couples in Slovakia
Dr Agata Mleczko reports on the first Slovak edition of the "Behold the Bridegroom" spiritual retreat for married couples, held in Sigord, Slovakia, 13–15 March 2026.
The Misterogrande Project was founded in 2009 by Fr Renzo Bonetti, former Director of the National Office for the Pastoral Care of the Family at the Italian Bishops' Conference, together with a group of families from across Italy. Misterogrande is a project in which married couples and priests collaborate to develop formative pathways rooted in the theology of the sacrament of marriage. Its pastoral tools have now reached some twenty countries worldwide. What distinguishes the project is its ability to translate the Church's magisterial teaching on marriage — from Gaudium et Spes through Familiaris Consortio to Amoris Laetitia — into lived experience, helping couples discover the sacramental grace present in their daily married life. Dr Agata Mleczko, who has been part of the Misterogrande Project for ten years, draws on this pastoral experience in her work at Maryvale, where a new Sacrament of Marriage course is launching in September 2026.
In November 2025, the team responsible for the "Behold the Bridegroom" retreat in Poland received a request from Slovakia to organise the retreat for a local group of married couples. While the retreat has been held in many countries around the world, this was the first time the Polish team undertook to bring it abroad — and the first time it was held in Slovakia. Five couples and their chaplain, Fr Marcin Kąkol, committed to forming the retreat team.
The team arrived at a Greek Catholic family and marriage centre in Sigord, eastern Slovakia, on Thursday evening and spent Friday preparing the venue. A Eucharist celebrated by Fr Kąkol on the eve of the retreat set the tone with a reading from Jeremiah: "Listen to my voice" (Jer 7:23). Throughout the weekend, the daily liturgical readings offered a Lenten lens through which the team and participants were led into a deeper understanding of the sacrament of marriage.
The retreat began on Friday evening. In total, sixteen couples took part, accompanied by three priests — two from the local diocese and one Carmelite — as well as two Greek Catholic priests with their wives. The anticipated language barrier proved less formidable than expected: some participants spoke Polish well, and the presence of translators — Jana, Fr Paweł, and Richard — was invaluable.
Friday's readings reinforced the theme of trust, with the prophet Hosea's call to rely wholly on God rather than on human solutions (Hos 14:4). For a team operating in an unfamiliar country and across a language barrier, this was a timely reminder. Saturday's readings continued the thread: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us" (Hos 6:1). The promise that follows — "we shall live in his presence" (Hos 6:2) — captured what the team experienced throughout the weekend: difficulties met by grace, human limitations answered by divine generosity.
Sunday — Laetare Sunday — brought the retreat to its climax. The readings, accompanied by Fr Kąkol's commentary, centred on the image of anointing: King David anointed with oil, the man born blind anointed with clay. "The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). By this point, a palpable sense of unity had formed between the team and the participants — a shared experience of being anointed and sent.
The most moving moment came at the close, when the Slovak participants, led by members of a local charismatic group, gathered to pray over the Polish team — an outpouring of grace and gratitude that left every member visibly moved. Despite considerable logistical and linguistic challenges, the weekend confirmed that the sacrament of marriage carries a grace that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. When a team commits to service in trust, the results exceed what any human planning could achieve — or, in the words of St Paul, God "is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20).
If you want to hear more about Maryvale's new FE programmes, including that on the sacrament of marraige, launching in September 2026, contact: