Immaculate Heart Retreat Center will host a Silent Day of Prayer on the Joy of the Gospel entitled, “Pope Francis’ Message: Hope and Joy” led by the Rev. Robert McNeese on July 28 from 9 a.m — 3 p.m.
“Pope Francis has shaken up the experience of the Church and the world, surprising us with the simplicity of what Christ taught and left us after ascending into heaven. In the pope’s work, The Joy of the Gospel, Fr. Bob will direct participants to ponder the simplicity, beauty and practice of this message of spreading the Good News of the Gospel,” the retreat center announced.
McNeese is the current rector of Bishop White Seminary.
Cost for the retreat is $37 per person and includes lunch, (or $47 which also includes use of a private room for the day). Register in advance by calling (509)448-1224 or online at www.ihrc.net

Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.