Named for the founder of the Society of Jesus and the patron saint of retreats, St. Ignatius House on Riverside Drive in Sandy Springs offers a quiet place and time for residents to escape everyday life for a weekend.

Opened in 1961, the 20-acre campus overlooking the Chattahoochee River was the gift of the Schroder family, whose son John is a Jesuit priest, said Executive Director Robert Fitzgerald.

“She was quite the lady,” Fitzgerald said, gazing at a portrait of original benefactor Suzanne Spalding Schroder in the retreat house’s reception area. “She gave five acres and their summer home. Some of the other Schroder family members gave the other 15 acres.”

Although not himself a Jesuit priest, Fitzgerald directs retreats which incorporate the spiritual exercises which St. Ignatius developed in the 16th century in his native Spain.

“What I was attracted to and enjoy is offering the exercises and being the one who lays out the opportunity in silence,” the retired BellSouth executive said. “There’s an active side of silence. There’s that stillness that allows us to hear God’s self-revelation. The active side of silence is listening.”

The silence of retreats is broken only by lectures or Catholic religious services, Fitzgerald said, while at other times, retreatants can wander the heavily-wooded property or enjoy spectacular views in the glass-walled library.

“The whole idea is to have the inside going out and the outside coming in,” Fitzgerald said about the use of nature as an architectural element. “One of the ways to know God is through nature.”

Retreatants of all faiths are welcomed, Fitzgerald said, and General Manager Debbie Brumelow has been welcoming them for the past 20 years.

“God sent me here,” Ms. Brumelow said. “The lady who hired me became ill and I ended up taking her job. Back then there were just two of us for cleaning, cooking and office work.”

Over the years, Ms. Brumelow said a community has developed, making both her job and the retreats very enjoyable.

“It’s like having a family other than your own family,” Ms. Brumelow said. “Most people that come here know there’s a great sense of peace.”

Ignatius House is located at 6700 Riverside Drive. More than 36 retreats a year are offered, including Spanish, men- or women-only, couples and young adults.

Information: (404) 255-0503 or visit www.ignatiushouse.org.