A group of private donors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis signed a $6.25 million purchase agreement Jan. 17 for a resort in northwestern Wisconsin that will be outfitted as a Catholic summer camp for middle schoolers and for conferences, retreats and faith and science camps in fall, winter and spring.
“It’s a resort-like camp. It will be great for our youth, but also for the adults,” said Tim Healy, president of the nonprofit Minnesota Catholic Youth Partnership (MCYP), which bought the 700-acre Heartwood Resort near Trego, Wis. The camp is about a two-hour drive from the Twin Cities.
The partnership’s effort to find a camp for Catholic youth and others included looking at property near Stillwater in Washington County last year. The current property is in great shape and ready for clients; a men’s retreat from the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin is booked for the end of January, Healy said.
“We really believe that God brought this back for us,” Healy said. “We feel we’re exactly where we are supposed to be.”
The camp will be home base for Extreme Faith Camp (EFC), a ministry for Catholic youth that works with parishes and was founded more than 20 years ago by John O’Sullivan, longtime youth director at St. Michael in St. Michael. Now, MCYP has hired O’Sullivan as parish liaison, Healy said.
Nearly 2,000 EFC youth are already lined up for this summer, Healy said.
The property will be called Trinity Woods Catholic Retreat Center, Healy said. MCYP will prioritize booking archdiocesan groups but will be open to other organizations that are consistent with Catholic beliefs, he said. A major goal of the camp is offering youth an opportunity to break away from cellphones and laptops, from social media and other distractions, and open the door to a personal encounter with Jesus, Healy said.
MCYP hopes to raise $10 million, Healy said. The organization’s 10-member board and about 70 generous donors have helped thus far, and more donations are needed, he said. People can visit trinitywoodscatholic.com to contact the camp’s staff, help financially and learn more.
What little work needs to be done on the property includes building outdoor equipment like a zip line and a climbing wall and adding bunk beds, Healy said. The property includes a grand lodge and housing that can serve more than 200 people and a second lodge area for about 100 people. There is a full-service kitchen, five cabins and four houses.
The property provides access to two lakes and the Namekagon River and includes more than 12 miles of hiking trails. It has athletic fields, a sand volleyball court and tennis, basketball and pickleball courts. Every cabin has a lake view. The houses will be available for retreats.
