THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 45, NO. 5 | SEPTEMBER 8, 2023
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann speaks to those gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Christ’s Peace House of Prayer on Aug. 19. It was known as Shantivanam in its beginning and had a more interreligious emphasis. Since 2011, the emphasis is more Catholic, eucharistic and Christocentric.
A PLACE TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S PRESENCE Christ’s Peace House of Prayer celebrates 50 years
By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
E
ASTON — When Father Ed Hays showed up here in early 1972, he raised more than a few eye-
brows. “I remember nobody knew what the situation was,” said Don Navinsky, a third-generation farmer who lives about six miles west of the property. “What’s he building up there? Is this going to be some kind of cult or something?” It was nothing like that. In late 1971, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas bought a former horse farm on an obscure 120-acre tract of rolling pasture and woodlands at 22131 Meagher Road in northwest Leavenworth County, about
LEARN MORE ABOUT CHRIST’S PEACE For more on retreats for individuals or groups, contact Vince Eimer online at: info@ christspeace.com; call (913) 773-8255; or look for “Christ’s Peace House of Prayer” on Facebook.
three miles east of Easton and some 13 miles west of Leavenworth. Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker had asked Father Ed Hays — who returned from a yearlong sabbatical and pilgrimage to Israel, India and Tibet — to establish an archdiocesan house of prayer on the site. So, in early 1972, Father Hays moved onto the land and with
the help of volunteers began to build. He called his retreat/ prayer center “Shantivanam,” “Forest of Peace” in Sanskrit, after a place in India. Since 2011, this archdiocesan center has been called Christ’s Peace House of Prayer, and archdiocesan Catholics gathered on Aug. 19 to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a Mass and open house. “The original founder, Archbishop Ignatius Strecker, wanted a place of prayer for the archdiocese that prayed for the needs of the archbishop, the ministers and members of the archdiocese, for the church as a whole and the whole world,” said Vince Eimer, director of Christ’s Peace since December 2011. >> See “PRAYER” on page 7
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Vince Eimer, director of Christ’s Peace since December 2011, prays with others at the 50th anniversary celebration.