About Emmaus House
A Legacy of Ignatian Spirituality in Des Moines, Iowa
Emmaus House, a ministry of the Des Moines Diocese, is one of the oldest retreat facilities in Iowa. In 1974, the Most Rev. Maurice Dingman, Bishop of Des Moines, invited Jesuits to start the ministry in the heart of Des Moines to promote the spirituality to all who request direction and to encourage St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises.
Emmaus House invites people of all faiths and ages to gather and seek opportunities for meditation, quiet reflection, and faith formation. The ministry unites people through individual spiritual direction and retreats, and facilitates dialogue about spirituality, social justice, and the environment.
Participants are not the only ones who glean the benefits of retreats and programs. As people grow in mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom, they share these graces with their family, friends, workplace, and community.
Current Staff
April Young | Director
April Young, M.A., received a master’s degree in pastoral care from Fordham University in New York and a graduate certificate in spiritual direction and retreats from Creighton University in 2023. She also has a BS in English from Iowa State University. April joined Emmaus House in 2022 and assumed the role of Director in December 2024.
With years in pastoral ministry, April brings Ignatian roots, formation, and personal practice to Emmaus House. As a spiritual director, she feels honored to accompany others on their spiritual journey. Her own experience in spiritual direction helped her to hear the call to share its gifts with others, and she is grateful to walk with others in their journey with God.
“Ignatian Spirituality is such a powerful, pragmatic practice, connecting us with God in a personal way in our everyday lives.”
Current Board Members
- Jim Egger, chair
- Jason Kurth, secretary
- Steve Kramer, treasurer
- Faye Akers
- Dan Kuckuck
- Debbie Landuyt
- Fr. Ray McHenry
- Becky Olsen
- Fritz Trost
About the Icon of Emmaus
Icons have long been used in prayer as aids to experiencing the beauty and love of God. This icon depicts the story in Saint Luke’s Gospel (24:13-35) about how two of Jesus’ disciples experienced the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.
As the disciples made their way along, they talked about Jesus’ recent death and the heartache of their loss. Jesus himself joined them on their journey, but they did not recognize him as they travelled together. Jesus then taught them from the scriptures about himself, and at the end of the day, joined them at the table for the breaking of bread. In that moment, the disciples’ eyes were opened in recognition of the one their hearts had known all along.
Emmaus House is named after this story because our ministry seeks to help people come to that same recognition of Christ in their lives. Through spiritual direction, retreats, and other opportunities to share about our lives and the scriptures, and in the celebration of Eucharist, we too become better able to recognize the risen Christ ever in our midst. The one whom our heart already knows is recognized in new and ever more personal ways.
This icon copyright belongs to Sister Marie-Paul Farran, O.S.B., of the Monastery on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel. Her community is a cloistered, French-speaking small group of nuns. They are a very poor community located in the Arab part of the city. One of their main sources of support is the sale of Sister Marie-Paul’s icons, both originals and reproductions. The Printery House of Conception Abbey is a North American defender of her copyright.
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