How does one join a religious community?
The formation program involves several stages. While these vary from community to community in name, length of time, and format, the following outline gives a general view of the formation process: Contact: A person of high school age or older who is interested in religious life can join a program of contact with a religious community. This is usually a very flexible program. The person meets monthly with a priest, brother or sister and shares experiences of prayer and community life with the congregation in which he or she is interested. Candidate: A more formal relationship with the community occurs when a person becomes a candidate. The person lives with the community while continuing his or her education or work experience. This period enables the candidate to observe and participate in religious life from the inside. It also gives the community an opportunity to see if the candidate shows promise of living the life of the community. A person may be a candidate for one or two years
