Our Story: From the First Men's Emmaus to Faith & Based
My dad helped start a retreat that reached men all over the world. Faith & Based is me carrying it to the next generation.
Where it started: St. Louis, Miami, 1985
In early 1985, Fr. James Fetscher, the pastor at St. Louis Catholic Church in Miami, asked my dad, Jim Loretta, to look at starting a men's version of the Emmaus retreat that Myrna Gallagher had begun for women in 1978. My dad, Larry Barfield and other men from the parish built it. On February 14, 1986, my dad led the very first Men's Emmaus, at the Dominican Retreat House.
How far it went
A man from one of those early weekends asked to bring the retreat to his own parish, and Larry Barfield put on the first Men's Emmaus outside St. Louis, at St. Brendan's. On February 14, 1988, my dad put on the first one at St. John Neumann. From there it kept spreading: across the United States, to every country in Central and South America, to Trinidad, the Dominican Republic and Shanghai. In 2012 a retreat was even held underground in Cuba. (Source: Wikipedia)
Why Faith & Based exists
I grew up at St. Louis, and my kids go to school there now. Emmaus reached men on a retreat weekend. A lot of guys my age and younger will never sign up for a retreat, but they will wear something that means something, and somebody will ask them about it. That is the whole idea.
Faith & Based is Christian and Catholic streetwear from Miami, started in 2022 with one design, Love Your Enemies, Matthew 5:44. Every piece is built on scripture and the saints: Saints Go Hard, Vade Retro Satana, The Lamb, 33 AD and more. Same faith my dad built a retreat around, in a language the next generation actually speaks.
Clothes, a podcast and music
Faith & Based is also a podcast, and I make hip-hop as Mic Biz and Holy Laratta. Different formats, same mission: faith that shows up at the gym, at work and in the car, not just on Sunday.
"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"Luke 24:32
For press
Faith & Based: Christian and Catholic streetwear and podcast. Founded 2022, Miami. Founder: Michael Loretta, son of Jim Loretta, who co-founded the Men's Emmaus retreat and led the first one in 1986. Products: embroidered dad hats, heavyweight tees and hoodies, The Standard set, Little Saints kids line, made to order and shipped from the US. For interviews or questions, email service@faithandbased.com.
Faith & Based is an independent brand and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Emmaus retreat movement. This is our family's story.