Saint Gregory the Great Institute: Renewing Culture Conference – Bringing Back Sunday
Compulsive scrolling, the 24-hour news cycle, utilitarian education, and rising anxieties—all symptoms of a society that has forgotten how to experience transcendence within time, has forgotten how to live the Sabbath.
“Sunday,” observed St. Jerome, “is our day.” Pope St. John Paul II promoted it as the day “at the very heart of the Christian life.” But how do we protect it? How do we joyfully live it?
Join the Gregory the Great Institute for this year’s Annual Renewing Culture Conference, Bringing Back Sunday, as we explore the path to cultural renewal through the lens of Josef Pieper’s masterpiece, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Pieper’s central claim is that “Culture depends for its very existence upon leisure, and leisure, in its turn, is not possible unless it has a…living link with the cultus, with divine worship.”
Through lectures, liturgy, and festive hospitality, we will dive into the practical restoration of the Sabbath to explore questions such as: How does contemplation nourish faith, and how do we confidently live the liturgy within our homes? How can noble art and classic literature order us toward eternity, and how does the Sabbath foster liberal education and political wisdom?
Whether you are a student or professional seeking intellectual depth or a parent building a domestic church, this weekend conference is designed to equip participants to become leaders in renewing culture and to embrace the spirituality of what the Church Fathers called the “eighth day”.
Event Details & Registration
Dates: Friday evening, October 2 – Saturday evening, October 3, 2026
Location: Mt. Carmel Spirituality Centre, northwest of Edmonton, AB
Includes: Saturday lunch, refreshments, conference materials, and an opening wine-and-cheese social. (Optional additional Saturday Banquet – limited seating)
Accommodations are not included. Limited rooms are available at the Retreat Centre, which can be booked directly by emailing events@mountcarmeledmonton.ca or calling 780-963-0896.
There are also hotels nearby in Stony Plain and Spruce Grove.
Ticket Price: $125 (Special pricing available for couples, students, seminarians, and clergy; contact info@gregorythegreat.ca if you need a discount).
