Rachel’s Vineyard

Rachel's Vineyard weekends for healing after abortion are offered throughout the year in locations across the United States and Canada, with additional sites around the world. The Catholic Diocese of Peoria sponsors three retreats (two in English, one in Spanish) each year which are open to men and women of all faith backgrounds.

The retreat is an opportunity to examine your abortion experience, identify the ways that the loss has impacted you in the past and present, and helps to acknowledge any unresolved feelings that many individuals struggle with after abortion. Because of the emotional numbness and secrecy that often surrounds an abortion experience, conflicting emotions both during and after the event may remain unresolved. These buried feelings can surface later and may be symptoms of post abortion trauma.

Married couples, mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings of aborted children, as well as persons who have been involved in the abortion industry have come to Rachel's Vineyard in search of peace and inner healing. The weekend is a lot of work but yields a fruitful harvest for all who are willing to labor there.

Rachel's Vineyard exists as an extension of the Church’s proclaimed mission of providing pastoral and apostolic activities that draw women and men burdened by abortion closer to God’s merciful heart. Rachel's Vineyard is a Catholic retreat open to people of all faiths. It offers a safe and effective process in a confidential setting to bring the individual from brokenness toward reconciliation with oneself, with the unborn child, the family, the Church, and with God.

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria has designated Rachel's Vineyard as the leading model for post-abortion recovery for the area served by the diocese. The program is the preferred method of post-abortion healing by both Catholic and other Christian individuals and groups, as well by those who serve in secular settings, such as counseling centers and student health centers. Rachel's Vineyard is a unique model of healing for the whole person, addressing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of the individual. The retreat program provides supplemental care to that which the clergy of our Diocese provides in the sacramental and pastoral care offered to their parishioners. It is structured around the Scriptures and centered on the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. The retreat is acknowledged as a reliable resource, with excellent staff formation and preparation in the retreat process and in Catholic doctrine. Rachel's Vineyard serves as a catalyst in the development of the Church’s mission to build a culture of life and to support marriage and family as civilizations of love.