PilgrimstaysThe Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi is located in Faridabad, very close to South Delhi and has residential quarters for 450 people. It was founded by the Vincentian Congregation , which founded the world famous Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor , Potta. A little about it’s founding: Listening to the people’s cry of Northern India, where the spirit of renewal had not permeated much, the Holy Spirit again gave message to Rev Fr Mathew Naikomparampil VC., who was busy on the move, conducting retreats and spiritual rejuvenation for people in various parts of North India, that a Divine Retreat Centre should be set up around Delhi. Based on this central message and with the approval, permission and pastoral blessings of the late Archbishop of Delhi Allen De Lastic and the then Director of D S T Rev Fr George Kureethara, the Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi was started in Faridabad with Rev Fr Kuriakose Punnolil as its Director. The first convention held in 1999 at Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Allen De Lastic himself. Thousands who flocked to Divine for the convention went home healed in soul and body. It is in this convention that Fr Mathew received yet another message that intercessory prayers be held and more specially, the Holy Rosary be prayed for the world at large and North India in particular. On the strength of this, the “Divine Delhi Rosary” came into existence. People of any religion, caste and creed can be members of this group. Its sole intention is to proclaim that Jesus is the saviour of the universe and help people come closer to our Lord Jesus through Divine Rosary and Charismatic Prayers. Working for the glory of God: Under this umbrella around 400 coordinators worked for the Glory of God and with their comprehensive effort people in thousands come to Divine Retreat Ashram for prayers and derive their spiritual strength through the Word of God. Started with a meagre 35 people for the first night vigil, now the strength has grown to around 4,000 people on the evening of every first Friday of the Month. This day gives an opportunity to many participants to repent and partake in Confession.
It was founded by the Vincentian Congregation , which founded the world famous Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor , Potta
The first convention held in 1999 at Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Allen De Lastic himself
Thousands who flocked to Divine for the convention went home healed in soul and body
Started with a meagre 35 people for the first night vigil, now the strength has grown to around 4,000 people on the evening of every first Friday of the Month
The Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi is located in Faridabad, very close to South Delhi and has residential quarters for 450 people
The chapel, maintained in a simple Indian-influenced aesthetic with low seating (traditionally floor-seated), natural materials, and the Blessed Sacrament reserved, is the spiritual centre of the ashram. The simplicity of the space is deliberate — the ashram tradition values austerity as a form of openness to God.
The rhythm of daily prayer that governs ashram life — morning Lauds, Mass, midday prayer, evening Vespers, night prayer — is the oldest tradition in Catholic monasticism and predates the Indian ashram concept by fifteen centuries. The Delhi ashram's adaptation of this rhythm to the Indian context is part of what makes it valuable for Delhi Catholics seeking a deeper prayer life.
The ashram grounds, typically planted with trees and maintained as a quiet garden space, offer a contrast to the density and noise of the Delhi metropolitan area. In a city of extraordinary urban intensity, the ashram garden is a space of particular value.
Delhi is the capital of India, the seat of political power, a city of 30 million people, and the site of the largest concentration of political and economic decision-making in the country. The Divine Retreat Ashram exists in this context — a counter-environment to the ambient values of power, speed, and status that characterise the capital.
The community of north Indian Catholics who gather for retreats at the ashram — from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and UP, many of whom are from minority or convert communities — offers a window into the diversity and resilience of Catholicism in what is historically the most difficult missionary territory in India.
A Catholic ashram in Delhi: the capital of a country where Christians are 2.3% of the population, where the political climate is complex, where the Church has always been a small voice. The ashram model says: be small. Be quiet. Pray. Sit on the floor. Eat simply. Wait for God. That counter-cultural posture — chosen simplicity in the city of power — is a form of witness. India invented the ashram. The Church in India has made it its own.
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Read in full on Bible Gateway →The Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi is located in Faridabad, very close to South Delhi, and has residential quarters for 450 people. It was founded by the Vincentian Congregation, which founded the world-famous Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor, Potta.
Listening to the people’s cry of Northern India, where the spirit of renewal had not permeated much, the Holy Spirit again gave a message to Rev Fr Mathew Naikomparampil VC — who was busy on the move, conducting retreats and spiritual rejuvenation for people in various parts of North India — that a Divine Retreat Centre should be set up around Delhi. Based on this central message, and with the approval, permission and pastoral blessings of the late Archbishop of Delhi, Allen De Lastic, and the then Director of DST, Rev Fr George Kureethara, the Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi was started in Faridabad with Rev Fr Kuriakose Punnolil as its Director.
The first convention, held in 1999 at the Divine Retreat Ashram, Delhi, was blessed and inaugurated by Archbishop Allen De Lastic himself. Thousands who flocked to Divine for the convention went home healed in soul and body. It is in this convention that Fr Mathew received yet another message: that intercessory prayers be held, and more specially, the Holy Rosary be prayed for the world at large and North India in particular. On the strength of this, the “Divine Delhi Rosary” came into existence. People of any religion, caste and creed can be members of this group. Its sole intention is to proclaim that Jesus is the saviour of the universe and to help people come closer to our Lord Jesus through the Divine Rosary and Charismatic Prayers.
Under this umbrella, around 400 coordinators worked for the glory of God, and with their comprehensive effort people in thousands come to the Divine Retreat Ashram for prayers and derive their spiritual strength through the Word of God. Started with a meagre 35 people for the first night vigil, the strength has now grown to around 4,000 people on the evening of every first Friday of the month. This day gives an opportunity to many participants to repent and partake in Confession.