Looking for the complete story? Read the full history of the St. Louis Bridges program →
In 1979, Bishop Reme J. DeRoo of Victoria, British Columbia, invited Jim and Joan Felling — native St. Louisans then living in Canada — to make an eight-day directed Ignatian retreat. That retreat changed the direction of their lives.
Two years later, the Fellings made a thirty-day retreat based on the full Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Not long after, the bishop asked them to coordinate the Prayer Companions Program in Canada.
When the Fellings returned to St. Louis in 1988, they brought that training home with them.
Back in St. Louis, Jim and Joan joined with other lay people, Jesuits, and religious who shared a vision: to make the transformative gift of the Spiritual Exercises available to ordinary people, in the context of ordinary life.
That community became the Bridges Foundation, incorporated in the early 1990s as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Since 1989, more than 1,000 people have received the Spiritual Exercises through Bridges in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Along the way we’ve added:
Sr. Marian Cowan, C.S.J., was a beloved longtime companion and teacher in the Bridges community. We maintain a tribute to her life and work, including her notes on the Spiritual Exercises: read the full Marian Cowan, C.S.J. tribute page.
Download the Bridges Foundation Annual Report, 2025 (PDF)
Prior years are available on request — contact us.
