Baltimore Area Council Religious Retreat Patches

The Baltimore Area Council has a long tradition of council-level religious retreats.

The Catholic Retreat appears to have started in 1962; the 1987 patch designates the 25th anniversary. The earliest patch I have seen is the undated round above labeled 1964. The undated patch may have been used for multiple years, there may be earlier patches I have no images of, or the 1962 and 1963 retreats could have used neckerchiefs, slides, or some other non-patch alternative. The large patches from the late 1960s through 1974 feature the coat of arms of Cardinal Shehan.

The 1992 Catholic Retreat patch indicates the 30th Retreat, and the 1993 patch indicates the 29th Retreat. These are inconsistent with each other and with earlier patches. If the first retreat were in 1963, then 1992 would be the thirtieth retreat; if 1993 were the twenty-ninth retreat then the first retreat would have been in 1965. I would welcome any information that would clarify the dating of the Catholic Retreat patches.

The earliest Protestant Retreat patch is from 1974, but the 1984 patch designates the tenth retreat. Either the Protestant Retreat was skipped somewhere in the 1975–1982 period, or the patches are in error, giving the anniversary rather than the number of the retreat. (That is, the tenth anniversary would be the eleventh retreat.)

The Jewish Retreat started in 1977; the 1981 patch designates the fifth retreat. The same 1977 retreat patch may have been used for all three retreats held that year.

Joint patches were used several times. While the first Protestant Retreat patch was made in 1974, I believe the Catholic and Protestant Retreats used the same patches from 1975 through 1983. Roman numerals on the large FDL of the 1983 patch mark the anniversaries of the Catholic (XXI) and Protestant (IX) retreats.

The “Sunday Observance” patch from 2000 includes the Boy Scout, Girl Scout, and Campfire symbols. I do not know whether there was also a BAC-specific retreat patch issued that year.

My needs are highlighted above. Offers will be enthusiastically welcomed. I would also appreciate scans of or information about any patches not shown above.