Retreat Is Within Reach

After decades of public service, Anthony Romero now follows a quieter calling. As Director of the Norbertine Spirituality Center, he supports people who step away from the busy hustle of life to find clarity and peace through contemplative retreat.

Anthony Romero can see City Hall from the desert of Albuquerque’s South Valley on the 70 acres of Santa María de la Vid Abbey. The view reminds him of both his journey and daily spiritual invitation.

In 2023, Romero retired from public service after 25 years working for the city of Albuquerque. Much of his career was spent at City Hall. In his final role, he served as the director of the human resources department, a demanding, high-stress job that oversaw 6,500 employees and required putting out daily fires. He planned to take a year off before deciding what was next, but when he saw a position open for the Norbertine Spirituality Center Director at the Santa María de la Vid Abbey, he knew it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A lifelong New Mexican with deep Catholic roots, he applied and was offered the position. By January 2024, he stood at the helm, blending his bureaucratic expertise with a passion for spiritual renewal.

The Norbertine Order, over 900 years old, arrived in New Mexico 40 years ago, seeking to infuse their charism — community, contemplation, and service — into the local landscape. They acquired the property from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe who purchased the land from a group of Dominican sisters who had offered personal retreats in four modest hermitages. Under founding Abbot Joel Garner, the Norbertines expanded this ministry, recognizing its alignment with their regular lifestyle: monastic in rhythm but outward-facing in service. Today, the center boasts eight hermitages (four original, four new), 14 guest rooms, a commons area for groups, the six-bedroom Bethany Guest House, and the Santa Anna Guest House. Our Lady of Guadalupe Commons serves as a mini-conference hub with rooms for lectures, films, or quiet reflection. Amenities like the state’s largest religious library, a labyrinth, desert chapel, meditative walking paths, and Stations of the Cross invite deeper contemplation. In 2025 alone, the Norbertine Community hosted 279 retreats and 2,700 guests.

“While everybody is being very peaceful, there are opportunities for me to be very stressed,” Romero laughs. “But my goal every day is to never let anybody that’s on retreat feel my stress. I have this extreme privilege … of being kind to people, the importance of not overreacting, the importance of putting ego and pride aside. If I leave here and I’m a little kinder to people, that has a ripple effect to the rest of humanity.”

For Romero, retreat is an important component in determining what is ours to do amid the crises of the world and stresses of our days. And the abbey’s close proximity to the city is its own metaphor for how accessible sacred retreat is to each of us. “We’re all on this journey,” Romero reflects. “Amid hustle, the abbey is always there — accessible if you seek it…. Life gets chaotic. And so, the opportunity to gift ourselves self-care in the form of personal retreats is a very, very important gift that we can give to ourselves…. Here at the Spirituality Center, you are able to create that silent, contemplative space for yourself to reset, refocus, rejuvenate, whatever you need to do to get back to dealing with whatever trouble you’re facing in the healthiest manner.”

Romero’s definition of retreat is expansive. When Romero looks out at downtown Albuquerque from Santa María de la Vid Abbey, he is reminded of his journey. “I pause, look at it, and think of what I overcame there,” he shares. “It grounds me.” But he is also struck that his stress did not suddenly disappear when he took on the director role at the Norbertine Spiritual Center. If anything, vocational stress can feel more personal because it is so intertwined with your spirituality, identity, and calling.

The transformative power of retreat alive at the abbey was just as accessible to him when he worked at City Hall as it is today as retreat director. Priests at the abbey embody this dance: Nine reside there, but many venture out as pastors, hospital chaplains, or professors, returning each evening to the abbey. The Norbertines’ dedicatory phrase for their library is “That all may be one.” Awareness of this oneness does not hinge upon location.

The Norbertine Community’s 70-acre property sits 5,300 feet above sea level on Albuquerque’s southwest mesa and features spectacular views of the Sandia Mountain and Rio Grande Valley. The beauty of the land and intentions of retreatants serve as continual reminders to Romero that the sacred is always in his midst, accessible, even amid life’s challenges, offering us to quiet our souls and open our hearts to retreat and renewal. The green and white sign at the entrance to Santa María de la Vid Abbey greets visitors: “All are welcome.”

Abbot Bob Campbell and the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey, are very proud of the environment of the Spirituality Center and invite you to consider spending some time on retreat; to initiate the reservation process, visit, www.norbertinecommuity.org, and click on the “Retreats” link.

Reflect with Us  
Anthony Romero’s story reminds us that retreat is not an escape from the world, but a way of returning to it with greater clarity, kindness, and steadiness of heart. When we create space to pause — whether for a day, a season, or a quiet moment — we make room to listen more deeply for what is ours to do amid the pressures and demands of daily life. Where in your life might you be longing for retreat? Not necessarily by going away, but by stepping into stillness, reflection, or renewal right where you are? Share your reflection with us. 

We Conspire is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom and stories from the growing Christian contemplative movement. Sign up for the monthly email series and receive a free invitation to practice each month.