O’Dwyer Retreat Center welcomes new Director
Longtime youth minister most recently served in Peru
(Baltimore, MD) – Archbishop William E. Lori announced new leadership for the Sparks-based O’Dwyer Retreat Center, a tranquil setting where young people have been developing their faith for more than 60 years.
Sister Florencia Silva Cabrera (“Sister Flo”) – who has led youth ministry in North and South America for over two decades – has been named Director of the retreat center.
Archbishop Lori said Sister Flo brings deep knowledge, expertise, and passion in support of the formation of Catholic youth and young adults. While Archbishop Lori was Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, he appointed Sister Flo to oversee youth retreats, conferences, pilgrimages, and mission trips for the Connecticut diocese first as Director of Campus Ministry at a diocesan High School and then as Director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese.
“Sister Florencia’s dedicated her life to showing Christ’s love to others and providing spiritual direction for our youngest disciples,” Archbishop Lori said. “Having known her for some 20 years, I have confidence in her ability to build on the great and lasting legacy of the center as a place where people ‘come apart and rest a while’ as they find space to encounter Christ and commune with the Holy Spirit.”
Founded in 1963, the Msgr. Clare O’Dwyer Retreat Center offers opportunities for youth and young adults to gather for prayer, mediation and study in the bucolic section of Baltimore County, drawing students from across the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. The late Monsignor O’Dwyer’s enduring vision for the center is to be a “spiritual powerhouse for young people.”
John Smyth, Chairman of the O’Dwyer Center Board of Directors, said, “The O’Dwyer Board is thrilled to have Sister Flo joining us as Director of O’Dwyer. Her extensive background in Youth Ministry in Bridgeport and San Antonio will bring a wealth of support to the schools we work with for retreats and programming we offer. In addition, it’s wonderful to have a religious presence return full-time to the Center.”
While as a member of the Marian Community of Reconciliation, Sister Flo served as general treasurer in Lima since 2023. Prior to that, she spent several years as the local superior for the religious community in the Archdiocese Santiago de Chile and San Antonio, Texas.
“I am very excited for this opportunity to serve in Msgr. Clare O’Dwyer Retreat Center helping to provide young people the opportunity to encounter Christ, to grow in their love for Him, and to receive the necessary formation to become true missionary disciples. I am very grateful to Archbishop Lori for this opportunity to go back to ministry after several years working in administration and especially to be able to serve under his leadership again. Looking back in my life, I see that all the places the Lord Jesus has brought me to have helped prepare me for this new mission that He entrusts to me,” Sister Flo said.
In addition to her work in South America, Silva Cabrera spent two decades in youth ministry leadership, pastoral planning, and Catholic education. She served in leadership roles in Youth and Young Adult Ministry as well as Campus Ministry in the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas and the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut. She’s also taught theology classes in secondary schools and organized mission trips for young people.
Sister Flo earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a master’s degree in Catholic Pastoral and Educational Studies from the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England.