Formation in the Franciscan tradition integrates the
human, spiritual, and educational dimensions of the person. We try to help each
person understand his unique life call and thereby become a fully contributing
member of our fraternity. By sharing our life and values, we encourage each
person to progress in holiness, fraternity, and dedication to his ministry
within the Church.
I. Pre-Novitiate
Formation in the Third Order Regular begins with the
pre-novitiate, sometimes called postulancy. This nine-month formation period
introduces you to religious life, initiates you into Franciscan spirituality,
and emphasizes human development.
During
this time, you'll live at our pre-novitiate house in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and
may be enrolled at St.
Francis University as a part-time student. Most postulants take
two courses each semester, which might include philosophy, religious studies,
or pastoral ministry, and they are engaged in a weekly volunteer ministry.
As a postulant, you'll be responsible for health and
hospitalization insurance and other incidental expenses. The TOR community will
pay for your room and board along with tuition costs at St. Francis University.
Once you are admitted to the novitiate, all expenses will be paid by the TOR
community.
II. Novitiate
Novitiate is a response to God's call. It indicates that you have reached the
human and spiritual maturity that allows you to respond to this call with
sufficient and proper responsibility and freedom.
Novitiate
begins when you have completed your postulancy and are invested in the
religious habit. It lasts at least one year and may be extended depending upon
your readiness for profession of temporary vows.
The novitiate year is devoted to the foundations of the spiritual life. It
combines intensive prayer with instruction on spiritual direction, Franciscan
history and spirituality, prayer, religious vows, and the Rule and
Constitutions of the Third Order.
At the end of the novitiate, you will make temporary vows of poverty, chastity,
and obedience for two years. Thereafter, you will renew your temporary vows
until you are eligible to profess solemn vows, which are perpetually binding. A
friar is ordinarily in temporary vows for four to five years.
III. Post-Novitiate
After novitiate, our friars ordinarily live in our post-novitiate friary in
Washington, DC. There, the formation process continues through training in
various ministries. All friars, whether preparing for priesthood or
brotherhood, participate in the same formational conferences and workshops
about our Franciscan heritage and life. They also work in liturgical ministries
at local churches each Sunday, in a volunteer ministry related to social
justice, and in various summer ministries.
Friars who are called to brotherhood pursue either academic degrees or
vocational programs at local educational institutions. These programs, along
with courses in theology, will further prepare them for ministry.
Friars called to the priesthood pursue either the Master of Divinity Degree
(MDiv) or the Joint Degree Program (MDiv/MA) at Washington Theological Union in
preparation for ordained ministry. They will also spend a year of diaconate
internship at one of our parishes or institutions.
All friars in temporary vows spend a year of apostolic internship by living at
one of our friaries and ministering at one of our province's institutions.
Ordinarily, all friars return to our post-novitiate friary for their final year
in temporary vows. During this year, they prepare intensively to make their
life-long commitment.
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