Record Staff Report
The late Brother Bob Baxter, a Conventual Franciscan friar who served as retreat director at Mount St. Francis Retreat Center in Southern Indiana, wanted to ensure finances weren’t a barrier to retreat experiences.
He founded the Retreat Assistance Fund, which underwrites retreat fees for area high school students, homeless people and others who need assistance to attend one of the many retreats at the Mount.
Brother Baxter died on March 22, but his desire to make retreats accessible has not.
The Franciscan’s annual MountFest, set for June 2 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mount St. Francis, will be dedicated to the late friar. And proceeds from the festival will help raise money for the assistance fund.
A press release about the festival said that “Brother Bob had a unique ability to break open the Scriptures, bringing events and people of the Bible to life.”
Brother Baxter, a native of New York, served as a high school religion teacher, director of religious education and as a youth minister early in his religious life.
He became retreat director at Mount St. Francis in 2001, when he was also elected to serve as secretary of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation.
For more information about the festival and the retreat center, visit mountsaintfrancis.org.
