If you’ve ever arrived to check-in at the Cloisters carrying a little nervousness—or a lot of life—you may have been met by Sam Cooper and John Lingo. As longtime volunteers at check-in, these close friends have a gift for making Cloisters community members feel instantly welcomed, settled, and cared for. Their approach is simple: show up, be joyful, and let the Holy Spirit lead.
Sam and John first met nearly ten years ago through Alpha at St. Robert Bellarmine. Their mutual admiration set the stage for forming a quick (and lasting) friendship. What do they admire most in each other? Shared values and a like-mindedness that makes faith feel easy to talk about. Sam puts it plainly: “I trust John. Our relationship is very authentic. It’s nice to have a good friend you can openly share your faith with.” He often encourages others to build friendships like that—people you can safely share faith with—because it’s one of the ways we grow.
Their “yes” to the Cloisters was prompted in different ways, but both describe it as memorable. John had never been on retreat before The Cloisters. After an invitation shared through Serra Club, he felt a clear nudge: “It was an undeniable opportunity… something told me this is a big deal.” Sam, on the other hand, was encouraged by his wife Paula, who returned from a retreat “lit up”—so full of joy and that he signed up right away. Remarkably, Sam got an opening just three weeks later. “I guess the Holy Spirit wanted me there right away,” he says.
Both men point to silence as the heart of transformation. Sam admits he didn’t fully grasp that silence extends throughout the retreat—until he experienced it himself. “To be silent and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit—that is the magic,” he explains. John remembers his first retreat moving from nerves to awe, describing it as stepping into a whole new world of peace and abundance: “God’s opulence poured down upon us.”
Today, their retreat experience shapes their everyday lives. Sam literally counts down to his retreat weekend and jokes that his year revolves around it; that his ‘New Year’ begins with his Cloisters retreat rather than on January 1st. John talks about “anticipation and unpacking” as the real work—and after years of returning, he’s learned to build silence into daily life, craving 15 minutes of quiet almost every day.
Why do they keep volunteering? Their answer comes fast: “We get more than we give.” Watching retreatants arrive burdened and leave renewed fills their cup every time. John sums up their volunteer spirit with joyful simplicity: “Pray ‘Come Holy Spirit,’ and get out of the way. Be a happy Catholic.” At The Cloisters, Sam and John live that—one warm welcome at a time.