Our Mission:

At Camp Lajas (la-haas) we seek to immerse high school men and women in the wilderness of Pennsylvania to encounter the healing and redemptive power of Christ through challenging adventures, discipleship formation, and the Sacraments, in order to live out the Catholic faith with a revival of confidence as sons and daughters of God.

Our Story:

Camp Lajas was founded in 2018 by two Catholic young adults and laypeople, Gabriel Salibi and Emily Cunningham. Thanks to the abundant goodness of the Lord, guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the prayers, generosity, and hard work of many, camp more than doubled in size its second year, while still operating as a ministry of a diocesan parish and calling a group campsite at Moraine State Park home. Now in 2021, Camp Lajas is a ministry of Dry Bones Ministries, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and has a new permanent home at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Camp and Retreat Center in Volant, Pennsylvania!

Our Name:

 Why Lajas? The name Lajas comes from the site of the Marian Apparation of Our Lady of Las Lajas, a cliff-side area in Colombia. There, a woman and her daughter were radically changed during the course of a day's journey when they encountered Our Lady, who led them to God. Now the site of a basilica, it has become a place of healing and deliverance for many. Our Lady of Las Lajas, pray for us!