About St. Placid Priory

Upcoming Retreats at St. Placid Priory

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
The Priory Spirituality Center is an ecumenical Christian ministry that encourages those of all faiths to discern the voice of God in their lives and in the world. A ministry of St. Placid Priory we reflect Benedictine values: peace, hospitality, community, learning and prayerful discernment.

We offer a peaceful and contemplative setting for personal reflection. We encourage and challenge people to know the presence of God in their lives through classes, workshops, retreats and individual spir

Meals

Menu Types

On-your-own breakfast: Center Kitchen. Eggs, milk, bread, cereal, fruit provided. Your own food welcome, may be cooked in Kitchen. Lunch/Dinner served, main dish+salad bar. Sun coffee hour after Mass

Getting Here

Location icon St. Placid Priory, 500 College Street NE Lacey, Washington 98516

Directions

Traveling north from Portland, on I-5: Take Exit 109 Turn left onto Martin Way at end of exit Stay in the far right lane Turn right at second light onto College Street NE Turn right at St. Placid sign (second possible right turn) Traveling south from Seattle, on I-5: Take Exit 109 Turn right onto Martin Way at end of exit Stay in the far right lane Turn right at the light onto College Street NE Turn right at St. Placid sign (second possible right turn)

Customer Reviews

4.86 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
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Unity of South Sound - Weekend Retreat in Mid March 2024
Our group from Unity of South Sound enjoyed yet another weekend retreat at The Priory, staying at the retreat center. Janice was great to work with throughout the arrangement of reservations and flexible with us so that we could determine our exact number before finalizing the arrangements. We know the retreat center from prior trips. We each had our own room and shared a well equipped conference room for parts of three days. The kitchen was easy for us to use for breakfast and snacks. We brought our food from The Priory back to the retreat center because some of the Sisters were isolating themselves with a few having Covid but we still enjoyed our healthy meals back in the kitchen. That was convenient and easy for us. The kitchen also allowed some of us to play games and socialize at night after our formal activities were completed. We even engaged in thoughtful conversation with a few others staying at the retreat center for a program with the Sisters as we shared the kitchen table. The weather was cool and brisk but we still enjoyed an outside walking meditation in nature on the beautiful grounds set in a lowland Douglas fir forest. There are roads and sights and even a walking path in the forest.

5.0
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Hybrid: Contemplative Rest Retreat
The hybrid contemplative rest retreat led by M Freeman is a wonderful opportunity to dive into the benefit of periods of silence in our busy world. The retreat helps participants develop the habit of daily resting in silence and letting peace wash over them like a cleansing stream. These gatherings will take place monthly, and I highly recommend them to help develop a regular practice of contemplative rest.

5.0
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private retreat.
I love staying at St Placid Priory. The Sisters are most gracious and hospitable. They work to meet my needs and I feel blessed. My room is quite comfortable and the food most satisfying.
It is a treat to be welcomed to join them for the Daily Office.
I look forward to returning.
thea

5.0
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A Perfect Place for Our Meditation Retreat
Our small group really appreciated being able to meet at the Priory Spirituality Center for a five day midweek meditation retreat. We appreciate the full handicap accessible campus, the individual rooms for accommodations, and, most delightfully, the wonderful meals provided. They were obviously prepared with love. Janice went above and beyond to provide for scheduling and welcoming us. And the sisters in the refectory were also very hospitable and friendly. We were all deeply grateful for such a conducive place for us to focus on our meditation practice and do our spiritual work together. We are coming back.

4.0
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Just fine!
Quiet, nice people, clean neat room with a comfortable chair and just about enough room to do asanas. Sink in the room, WC and showers just down the hallway. Pretty grounds with a few short walks.

Food fine - (not organic) and not much in the way of cooked greens - mostly starch. However there was a more than adequate salad bar. So no problems there. Recommend fruit instead of dessert since the desserts are extremely sweet.

Mission & Vision

St. Placid Priory is a women’s Benedictine monastic community. We come from diverse backgrounds and have pursued many different careers. We are down-to-earth. We follow the Rule of St. Benedict, pray together and extend our Benedictine presence to the local community in the Olympia, Washington area.

We are healthy risk-takers, willing to follow the call of the Holy Spirit–even when the invitation seems unsure. We are a community with some structure and much freedom. We strive to allow the Rule of Benedict and the prophetic call to influence our lives. We are optimistic about our future and are taking concrete steps to prepare for our monastic future in the next century. We seek to cultivate a gentle spirit, bringing a non-violent stance to our conversation, interactions and ministry.

Most people have never heard of St. Placid. He is one of the Church’s early, although little known saints. We read in the Dialogues of Gregory the Great:

Once while blessed Benedict was in his room, one of his monks, the boy Placid, went down to get some water. In letting the bucket fill too rapidly, he lost his balance and was pulled into the lake, where the current quickly seized him and carried him about a stone’s throw from the shore.

Though inside the monastery at the time, the man of God was instantly aware of what had happened and called out to Maurus: “Hurry, Brother Maurus! The boy who just went down for water has fallen into the lake, and the current is carrying him away.”

Maurus asked for the blessing and on receiving it hurried out to fulfill his abbot’s command. He kept on running even over the water till he reached the place where Placid was drifting along helplessly. Pulling him up by the hair, Maurus rushed back to shore, still under the impression that he was on dry land. It was only when he set foot on the ground that he came to himself and looking back, realized that he had been running on the surface of the water. Overcome with fear and amazement at a deed he would never have thought possible, he returned to his abbot and told him what had taken place.

The holy man would not take any personal credit for the deed but attributed it to the obedience of his disciple. Maurus, on the contrary, claimed that it was due entirely to his abbot’s command. He could not have been responsible for the miracle himself, he said, since he had not even known he was performing it. While they were carrying on this friendly contest of humility, the question was settled by the boy who had been rescued. “When I was being drawn out of the water,” he told them, “I saw the abbot’s cloak over my head; he is the one I thought was bringing me to shore.”

Our community identifies well with our patron saint. Our lives have been with the anawim, those who know they are entirely dependent upon God. We know ourselves to be the anawim. There have been many times that we have felt overwhelmed with difficulties yet God pulled us through, providing for us in wonderfully miraculous ways. Yet through times of challenge and of the miraculous, we began anew to live the ordinary faithfully. We remain unswerving in our monastic observance and to God’s call in our lives.

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