Encounter with God: as guests take time out of their lives, for some, a once in a lifetime experience, while for others an annual spiritual health check, to reconnect with God and to grow deeper in this relationship.
Quiet Prayer and Reflection: for some, silence is sought, but for the most part, a place that fosters prayer, reflection and gentle conversations.
Spiritual Formation: providing a facility for groups and individuals to nurture their Christian faith. It is not a conference or meeting facility.
Hospitality: that seeks to greet and settle guests with a minimum of fuss but with great warmth and attention to their needs.
Great Natural Beauty: that calms the spirit and allows people to be renewed in body, heart, mind and spirit amidst the splendour of God’s creation.
Refreshment & Enjoyment: allowing guests to renew their energies and be refreshed through rest, sleep and exercise and taking time to enjoy fine food in a leisurely manner.
Safety: so that guests can relax with a sense of security and peace of mind.
Rich Heritages linked to:
the Carmelites, the owners of the land from 1960-1980
the Cenacle Sisters, who built and ran the Cenacle retreat Centre from 1980-2005
the naming of the Centre by Archbishop Bathersby (2006+) to provide connection to the indigenous people of North Stradbroke Island (Quandamooka people) and the Santa Teresa community outside Alice Springs (Eastern Arrernte people)
It is hoped that over time, many members of our Archdiocese will have the opportunity to come and spend some time in prayer and quiet reflection here at Ormiston at the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre.This can happen as:Individual Retreatants
for directed or non-directed retreats for periods from a single day to an extended period
May today there be peace within.May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.May you be content knowing you are a child of God.Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.It is there for each and every one of us.
Prayer
St Therese of the Child Jesus, teach us to follow your way of confidence and trust. Open our eyes to see God’s love ablaze in the beauty of a single flower and found in the simplest acts of charity such as a smile and a kind word. May we radiate the joy and gladness that comes from knowing as you did, that everything is grace. Amen.
Santa Teresa Spirituality CentreSanta Teresa Spirituality Centre
The name Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre was chosen by Archbishop Bathersby because:
Saint Therese of Lisieux ( 1873-97) was a young Carmelite nun whose life was marked by obedience to God in the simple things of life.
The Archdiocesan Spirituality Centre was built on land previously owned by the Carmelite Sisters, who live next door.
Santa Teresa (the Italian form of St Therese) became the youngest Doctor of the Church in 1997, when she was promoted by Pope John Paul II as the ‘Doctor of Love’.
Santa Teresa is a model of holiness for young people. She is a woman who has achieved holiness already in her young age (she died at age 24). She can illumine the path of youth today, called to bear the Gospel witness to the new generations. (Pope John Paul II in his 1997 Apostolic Letter ‘Divini Amoris Scientia’)
A prayer
We pray that Santa Teresa will teach us to follow her ‘little way’ of confidence and trust. Like St. Therese may our eyes be opened to see God’s love ablaze in the beauty of a single flower or revealed in the simplest acts of charity such as a smile and a kind word. May you encounter the love of God during your time here.
Santa Teresa Spirituality CentreSanta Teresa Spirituality Centre
The Quandamooka Peoples have lived on Terrangerri (now known as Minjerribah or North Stradbroke Island) and Moorgumpin for a very long time.
Scientists say at least 25,000 years, however we say longer. Our traditional estate – Quandamooka, the waters and islands of Central and Southern Moreton Bay and the coastal land and streams between the Brisbane to Logan Rivers, gave life to us in a time beyond memory.
There are three clans that comprise the Peoples of the Quandamooka. They are the Nughi of Moorgumpin (Moreton Island) and the Nunukul and Gorenpul of Terrangerri (Stradbroke Island).
We hold our heads high as Traditional Owners with strong identity and culture.
We are the Quandamooka People. We are the people of the sand and the water.
Our people have retained our distinctive culture and we are living proof of our continuous occupation and cultural practice. Our traditional practices have been upheld in contemporary form. Our People travel regularly through Quandamooka land and sea caring for Country.
Through consultations with our Elders and the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, we work together to protect our lands and sea country in many ways, including taking part in cultural heritage mangement, Enviromental Impact Assessments, negotiating over developments, educating the public and maintaining land and sea management responsiblilties.
Caring for our Country is our business. It always has been and always will be.
We sing its songs, tell its stories and dance to its rhythms to give honour and thanks to keep our place in its heart.
Our acknowledgment of country
Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre acknowledges the Quandamooka people who are the traditional custodians of this land. We pay respect to the elders past and present on whose land we are, acknowledging the loss of lands, culture and treasures, knowing the consequences for people, communities and nations, but believing we can walk together to a better future.
Sugar Farm to Field of St Joseph
Capt. Hope (1817 – 1894) grazier, sugar planter and miller, came to New South Wales in 1843, moving north to Moreton Bay in 1848 to settle at Kilcoy. In 1850, he purchased 800 acres of land at Raby Bay which he named Ormiston after a village on the family estate in Scotland. It was here that the Hon. Louis Hope grew the first sugar cane in Australia in the 1860’s and built his home now known as Ormiston House.The Carmelite Brisbane community lived for 38 years in Auchenflower House, which served as a temporary monastery, until funds could be raised and a site located for a regular monastery. In 1959 the Sisters bought the present property at Ormiston.The 22 acre property included Capt. Hope’s home which was in a state of disrepair. Over a period of years a committee of devoted helpers of the community slowly and painsakingly restored Ormiston House to something of its original grandeur. It is now a heritage-listed tourist attraction, managed by a group of generous volunteers: The Ormiston House Advisers and Friends Committee and their helpers.It took six years to build the new monastery and in 1965 the Carmelite sisters transferred from Auchenflower to Ormiston. They are a community of contemplative women who belong to the world-wide Discalced – Teresian – Carmelite Order. Called to follow Christ in initimate friendship and love, theirs is a life of prayer at the service of the Church.The Carmelites strive to embrace all people in their prayer, particularly, the poor and suffering in every part of the world. They believe that the love they show to one another not only builds up the community, but has an influence far beyond the confines of their monastery. They receive countless requests for prayer from people in need.While an enclosed order, they open their hearts, prayers and lifestyle to many people. Visitors to Santa Teresa are most welcome to join the Sisters for their 7.00am Eucharist or their celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in their chapel.In 1980 the Carmelite sisters sold 4 acres to the Cenacle Sisters to establish their retreat centre on farmland which the Carmelite sisters had named the Field of St Joseph.
Cenacle Retreat Centre
On arrival in Brisbane in 1980, the Cenacle Sisters, from New Zealand, negotiated the purchase of 4 acres of farmland from the Carmelite Sisters’ property at Ormiston for the purpose of establishing a retreat centre.The Cenacle retreat centre was officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Francis Rush in 1984. Till its closure in 2005, the Cenacle facility provided five double rooms with ensuites, seven single rooms, a 3 bedroom cottage, a dining room, conference room, chapel and a reading room.In accord with the vision of the Cenacle congregation:
We companion people on their faith journey in the midst of life. Living justice and Gospel values / we draw from our experience of God / creating a place where people can encounter God.
We express this mission primarily through retreats / spiritual direction / supervision / facilitation / formation projects / spirituality and poetry workshops and young adult ministry and music ministry.
The Cenacle Sisters initiated many of these ministries and had a formative role in training retreat directors. Responding to people’s needs for faith formation, the Sisters created flexible and accessible programs by taking Retreats in Daily Life and spirituality courses out among the people.
Sr Pat Clouston was the mainstay of the Cenacle ministry for nearly twenty-five years and oversaw the maintenance and development of the Centre. She was ably assisted by a team of Sisters and Fr John Reilly sj and Fr Gerry Kalinowski who led retreats and gave spiritual direction to clergy and laity over this period.In December 2009, the Sisters joined Archbishop Bathersby to celebrate Eucharist in the Santa Teresa chapel and view the relic of St. Therese set in the altar. Their Carmelite spirituality is a great gift in the life of both the Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre.The Archdiocese continues to honour the legacy of the Cenacle Sisters through naming the dining room, The Cenacle and the cottage, Couderc Cottage, as tangible signs of this rich heritage.
Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre
The Cenacle Retreat Centre was purchased by the Archdiocese of Brisbane in 2006 after the decision by the Cenacle Sisters to withdraw due to declining numbers.After years of planning, the site was blessed by Archbishop Bathersby on 19 March 2009. Major new construction and the upgrade of existing facilities followed. The Centre was officially opened and blessed by Archbishop Lazzarotto, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia on 4 October 2009.The Centre was renamed the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre and dedicated to the patronage of St Therese of Lisieux, a young Carmelite saint whose ‘Little Way’ of spirituality reminds us that ‘love can do all.’Fr Chris Gleeson sj was appointed the inaugural Director of the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre in January 2008 until his reassignment in January 2011. Since then, the Centre has been run by a Management Team from Evangelisation Brisbane under the auspices of the Archbishop.The Vision of Santa Teresa is to be a place of:
Encounter with God
Quiet Prayer and Reflection
Spiritual Formation
Hospitality
Great Natural Beauty
Refreshment and Enjoyment
Safety
Rich Heritage
Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre, drawing on its rich heritage as Quandamooka Country, Carmelite farmland and the Cenacle Retreat Centre now provides modern accommodation and facilities for groups and individuals taking time for a retreat or spiritual formation activities.With 30 ensuited rooms, 4 meeting spaces, 2 chapels, 3 dining spaces, spiritual direction rooms, administration offices, cottage accomodation for onsite caretakers and picturesque grounds, including a labyrinth, prayer well and yarning circle, the Centre is well designed to serve the needs of those seeking spiritual renewal and reflection.Santa Teresa welcomes thousands of guests each year to spend time in quiet prayer and reflection where they can experience the abundance of God’s love and wisdom for their lives.St Therese inspire us to love more deeply.
Santa Teresa Spirituality CentreSanta Teresa Spirituality Centre
Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre is owned and run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. 
