Forty miles north of Phoenix, surrounded by mountains and Sonoran desert, the Merciful Heart Hermitage: A House of Prayer for Priests is situated on a desert mesa overlooking Black Canyon City. There are four individual hermitages, named for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each hermitage is simple and somewhat austere but contains everything a visitor needs for a time of retreat: twin extra-long bed, recliner, table, full bathroom, small kitchenette, a quiet “mini-split” air conditioning and heating unit, and a two-sided porch offering spectacular vistas of miles of untouched preserve land. John hermitage is set up a bit differently and is reserved for local priests who would like to make a day retreat with no overnight. There is no Wi-Fi available in the hermitages, as retreatants are encouraged to “unplug” from the world (turning off one’s cell phone will be a crucial part of this unplugging).

In keeping with the simple nature of the desert experience, retreatants bring their own food to be prepared in the solitude of their hermitage. The kitchenette contains a small refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot and one-burner stove. All utensils, pots and pans, dishware, towels, and linens are provided. Coffee, tea, condiments, and filtered (reverse osmosis) water are available in each hermitage. We recommend that priests stop in the town of Anthem (15 miles south of Black Canyon City) to pick up groceries on their way up to the Hermitage, although there is a small market here in Black Canyon City as well.

We also have a limited supply of freshly prepared yet recently frozen homemade dinner meals. These meals are kept in a freezer in the sacristy of the chapel and can be accessed at any time. If you are interested in these frozen meals, please let us know when making reservations. We may even be able to provide one frozen meal per day but would need to know ahead of time in order to make sure that enough meals are available. An offering to help cover the cost of the meals would be greatly appreciated and should be included as part of one’s total retreat offering (a suggested amount would be $10 per meal).