WALDFISCHBACH-BURGALBEN, GERMANY — The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), welcomed 41 U.S. Air Force couples to Waldfischbach-Burgalben, Germany, this past weekend for an AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreat. The couples, from the Holy Family Catholic Community at Ramstein Air Base (AB), about 20 miles away, all participated in the Feb. 27-28 retreat at the Maria Rosenberg Retreat Center, a site run by the Diocese of Speyer in southwest Germany. Auxiliary Bishop William (Bill) Muhm, Fathers Nelson O. Ogwuegbu, Ch, Maj, USAF, and Joseph Deichert, Ch, Col, USAF (Ret.), worked with the planning committee and the facilitator, AMS Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization Mark Moitoza, Th.D., D.Min., to organize the gathering.
The couples came to the retreat center following an opening session at Ramstein’s North Chapel, where they prayed the Stations of the Cross and enjoyed a simple soup supper. They spent the weekend gathered in prayer, group sessions, and dialogue, using the REFOCCUS Marriage Enrichment Inventory, a resource developed by REFOCCUS, Inc. USA, of the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska. REFOCCUS stands for “Relationship Enrichment Facilitating Open Couple Communication through Understanding and Study.”
The couples explored the topics of compatibility, communication, and accompaniment. Bishop Muhm celebrated Mass on Saturday morning, and the retreat concluded with Eucharistic Adoration in the late afternoon. Meanwhile, back at Ramstein AB on Sunday, Bishop Muhm celebrated the Rite of Election for 22 aspiring Catholics who will be received into full communion with the Church at Easter. On Monday, Father Joseph Carola, S.J., a faculty member of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, led a Clergy Day of Recollection at the Maria Rosenberg Retreat Center for nearly two dozen Catholic U.S. Military chaplains and other clergy currently based in Europe, focusing on “the heart of the priest” and the sacrament of reconciliation. After having celebrated the Rite of Election at Daenner Kaserne, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, participated.
The Marriage Enrichment Retreat was the 11th sponsored by the AMS since 2018 at locations throughout Europe, the U.S., and Asia. Previous AMS Marriage Enrichment Retreats have taken place Feb. 16-18, 2018, in Marriottsville, MD; Dec. 7-9, 2018, in Alhambra, CA; September 27-29, 2019, in San Angelo, TX; Dec. 6-8, 2019, in Assisi, Italy; Oct. 1-3, 2021, in Atlanta, GA; July 8-10, 2022, in Waldfischbach-Burgalben; May 19-20, 2023, on Guam; Oct. 18-20, 2024, in Nemi, Italy; April 11-12, 2025, in Waldfischbach-Burgalben; and Sept. 5-7, 2025, in Gangneung, South Korea. These retreats are generously funded by benefactors of the Archdiocese.