Spiritual Direction

A spiritual director is a man or woman, ordained or lay, who is trained and holds a certificate or Master’s degree in spiritual direction. A spiritual mentor, on the other hand, may have no professional training, but is someone you believe to be holy, spiritually wise, listens with an open and compassionate heart, non-judgmental, comfortable with silence, and skilled in asking pertinent questions.


A list of Spiritual Directors in the Archdiocese of Dubuque may be found here.

You may also contact area retreat centers, listed in alphabetical order:

New Melleray Abbey, New Melleray, IA: http://www.newmelleray.org/

Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, Dubuque, IA: http://www.mississippiabbey.org/

Prairiewoods Retreat Center, Hiawatha, IA: http://prairiewoods.org/spirituality/

Shalom Retreat Center, Dubuque, IA: http://www.shalomretreats.org/spiritualdir.html

Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubuque, IA: http://dubuquepresentations.org/prayer_spiritual.cfm

Websites on Spiritual Direction:

Catholic Spiritual Direction by Dan Burke, author of Navigating the Interior Life: Articles, Resources, Webinars on Spiritual Direction and the Spiriutal Life, Dan Burke: http://rcspiritualdirection.com/

Ignatian Spirituality: A Service of Loyola Press: Articles on Spiritual Direction according to Ignatian Spirituality: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/making-good-decisions/spiritual-direction

Learn about the Institute of the Transfiguration Spiritual Director training here.