Retreat beckons visitors

Owners plan to move, expand rock grotto this year

St. Francis Lodge has welcomed Sisters from Illinois, North Dakota and Minnesota
and other guests since it opened in May 2010.
Located on Lake George, about 12 miles east of Itasca State Park, the private, family-
owned retreat offers Sisters a quiet place for respite.
Sal and Beth Di Leo built the lodge with a vision inspired after Sal revisited Joliet, IL,
where at age 8 he was taken to an orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Francis.
“They gave me faith, a value system and a work ethic,” Sal says. The lodge’s open
doors reflect his sense of gratitude as expressed in his book, Did I Ever Thank You,
Sister? Sal describes the lodge as “ a very ecumenical mission for God… a place of
peace and prayer.”
In addition to the lodge, a small chapel and grotto are located on the grounds of the
lakeside retreat. In 2012, the Di Leos hope to move and enlarge the rock grotto and are
looking for a skilled craftsman to lead the project. Sal is already rounding up volunteers
to help.
“We want to create a more prominent place, larger and more accessible, where
people can kneel or sit and pray,” Sal said. The new grotto would serve as a backdrop
between the lake and an outdoor sanctuary with an altar and seating for Masses and
religious events, accommodating more people than the chapel can hold.
“We want to enhance the experience and make St. Francis Lodge even more special,
create an even more peaceful environment,” Sal said. “If we can find someone who can
lead us, our goal is to have it done in a year.
“We have seen some special things happen to people here. Some reaffirm their faith
and find comfort in their time with God. I feel God is calling me to make this a shrine to
the Blessed Mother and dedicated to God, the Father,” Sal said.
From the time in 1999, when Sal first envisioned creating the retreat as a way to
thank the nuns who raised him, until now, the money has managed to come and many
people have given their time, energy and prayers to help, Sal said. “It’s little people
doing little things and doing bigger things for God.”
In the same vein, creating a more grandiose outdoor environment suits Sal’s feeling
that all the work is serving a higher purpose. “God has asked me to do this and it’s
provided me and others an opportunity to find a connection with God.”
Sal also plans to dedicate the grotto and a larger statue of St. Francis to be added on
the hillside to the late Father Bernard Reiser. Father Reiser, who had retired from
Epiphany Catholic Church in Coon Rapids, came to help dedicate the lodge in May
2010. Father Reiser seemed impressed with the lodge, built, in his words, in “the
cathedral of nature with the dome of the sky and stars as the lights. How fitting to have
Mass in the heart of Minnesota and among the pines.”
“Father Reiser was very encouraging and supportive of our efforts,” Sal said. He is
also grateful to Father Duane Pribula from Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in
Nevis, who has celebrated Holy Masses at St. Francis Lodge on multiple occasions.
In addition to moving and enlarging the grotto, the Di Leos are planning other projects
at the lodge and grounds starting in March. According to Sal, one objective is “to get us
off the grid” in the next few years. A friend is helping find solar panels sufficient to power

a big part of the lodge’s energy consumption.
The couple also will create a four-season heated porch in the back entrance and add
plumbing for another washer and dryer there for guests to save them from climbing up
and down the spiral staircase to the existing laundry area.
In May or early June, a dedication is planned for a new “Sun-Room Quarters,”
finished last fall and named the Ray Welter Family Guest Room, in honor of a friend
who has helped over the years.
“We are anticipating a very busy year as people are already booking up time at St.
Francis Lodge,” Sal said. “We have Nuns coming from quite a distance, as well as other
guests. We hope you will come and see for yourself just how beautiful it is.”
Anyone who has time to volunteer on these projects and, most especially, someone
who could lead the stonework on the new grotto, may call Sal at 612-382-3582.
Proceeds from his book Did I Ever Thank You, Sister?, now available online from
Barnes and Noble at www.bn.com or at www.saldileo.com, go toward paying for the
lodge.