Initial formation

If you are accepted to begin first formation, you will be invited to become a postulant and to join a community, if possible in your home country. Over a period of about a year, you will have the chance to share the life of that community and to receive personal accompaniment.

At the end of the postulancy you may be invited to enter the novitiate. There are two novitiates at present – one for English-speaking candidates in New Zealand, one for French-speaking candidates in Senegal. The novitiate is international, and provides training in religious life in a multi-cultural community. It is a two year preparation for making a religious commitment through the three vows of Chastity, Obedience, and Poverty. Novices deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith, and of the Bible. They study the Constitutions of our congregation, which explain our vocation in the Church. They learn what it means to be missionary, Marist and religious. They learn how to live in community, and how to work in pastoral teams.