Throughout the year, the Office of the Chaplain and Religious and Spiritual Life offers occasional retreats for those who seek time for renewal. Many of the student-run spiritual and religious organizations also sponsor evening and weekend retreats to which all are welcome. We also regularly refer seekers to the many retreat centers in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast (see a partial list below). Optimally, a retreat won't be a "stolen luxury" in a busy life or an "irresponsible escape" from a politically oppressive world. It can unveil an experience of the Holy, which may become the seedbed of renewed faith, wisdom, courage, and activism. Ideally, a retreat will also become a rule and not an exception; its effects can spill over into daily life, creating a hunger for regular periods of prayer or meditation and renewal.
Quiet places
There are several quiet, beautiful places on and near the campus that are conducive to contemplation and reflection. Some of our favorite sites include:
Divinity Chapel, Harvard Divinity School
Prayer rugs, meditation cushions, scriptures of many traditions and prayer beads available
Divinity Hall, 3rd floor
14 Divinity Avenue
CSWR meditation room
Center for the Study of World Religions
42 Francis Avenue
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street
Memorial Church
Harvard Yard
Meditation space, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Longfellow Building
13 Appian Way, Room 214
Open Monday–Friday
The Class of 1959 Chapel
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field Road
Meditation room, Harvard Kennedy School
Littauer Building, Room G28
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Prayer/meditation space, Smith Center
Room 732 (next to the Muslim Chaplin’s Office)
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Open Monday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm
Winter Garden Meditation Room, Center for Government and International Studies
Knafel Center, basement floor (access through the Harvard-MIT Data Center)
1737 Cambridge Street
Serenity Room, Harvard College
Grays Hall Basement, Room 021
Harvard Yard
For first-year Harvard College students only but please note that the guided meditation sessions offered here by the Center for Wellness are open to all.
Interfaith Prayer and Meditation Space, Harvard Law School
Wasserstein Hall, Student Organization Workroom, 2nd floor
1585 Massachusetts Avenue
Access for HLS students only
Society of St. John the Evangelist
980 Memorial Drive
Between their scheduled services, the chapel of the Society of St. John the Evangelist is available to all for quiet meditation and prayer. The chapel is generally open Tuesday–Sunday, 6 am–9 pm.
Outdoor spaces
- The HDS labyrinth and contemplative garden near Rockefeller Hall, 45 Francis Avenue
- The courtyard of the Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Avenue
- The park on the grounds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 136 Irving Street
- The courtyard garden of Adolphus Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Monday–Friday, summer and part of the fall
- Radcliffe’s Sunken Garden, corner of Garden St. and Appian Way
- Garden at Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Park, 105 Brattle St.
- Charles River Reservation and Esplanade
- The Minuteman Bikeway
- Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn Street
- Fresh Pond, at Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Ave
- Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
- Walden Pond, Concord
*Please note, Andover Hall (now known as Swartz Hall) is under renovation and unavailable.
Retreats and contemplative organizations: Regional links
The sites below are maintained by organizations external to Harvard Divinity School; their inclusion here does not necessarily imply endorsement by HDS. If you know of other resources that you think should be considered for inclusion on this page, please email Kerry A. Maloney, the chaplain and director of religious and spiritual life.
- Abode of the Message Retreat Center (New Lebanon, NY)
- Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center (Byfield, MA)
- Agape Community (Ware, MA)
- Aryaloka Buddhist Center (Newmarket, NH)
- Bethany House of Prayer (Arlington, MA)
- Blue Cliff Monastery (Pine Bush, NY)
- Cedar Hill Retreat Center (Duxbury, MA)
- Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (Northampton, MA)
- Earthdance (Plainfield, MA)
- Eastern Point Retreat Center (Gloucester, MA)
- Elat Chayyim: The Jewish Retreat Center (Accord, NY)
- The Empty Bell (Northampton, MA)
- Evensong Retreat and Spirituality Center (Harwich Port, MA)
- Find the Divine (directory)
- Friendly Crossways (Harvard, MA)
- Holy Cross Monastery (West Park, NY)
- Insight Meditation Society/Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (Barre, MA)
- Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (Bangor, PA)
- Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (Lenox, MA)
- Mary House (Spencer, MA)
- Meetingbrook (Camden, ME)
- Morgan Bay Zendo (Surry, ME)
- Mount St. Mary’s Abbey (Wrentham, MA)
- New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (New York, NY)
- Online Ignatian Retreat (in the Christian tradition)
- The Peace Abbey (Sherborn, MA)
- Pendle Hill (Wallingford, PA)
- RetreatFinder.com (directory)
- Retreats Online, Massachusetts (directory)
- Rolling Ridge Retreat Center (North Andover, MA)
- Rowe Camp and Conference Center (Rowe, MA)
- Ruah Interfaith Spirituality Program (Brookline, MA)
- Saint Joseph Retreat Center (Cohasset, MA)
- Saint Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, MA)
- Shambhala Boston (Boston, MA)
- Sisters of St. Margaret (Boston and Duxbury, MA)
- Society of Saint John the Evangelist (Cambridge and W. Newburyport, MA)
- Spirit Fire Retreat Center (Leyden, MA)
- Starflower Farm and Studios (Monroe, ME)
- Star Island (Portsmouth, NH)
- Stony Point Center (Stony Point, NY)
- The Walker Center (Auburndale, MA)
- Woolman Hill Quaker Center (Deerfield, MA)
- Zen Mountain Monastery (Mt. Tremper, NY)
- Zen Peacemakers Montague Farm (Montague, MA)