The steps of formation
When a person wishes to enter the Monastery, Saint Benedict wants to know before all things if she seeks God. She will be invited to be an aspirant for a period of time.
If she perseveres, she may become a postulant.
After this period (minimum 6 to 9 months) of initiation to the monastic life, she may ask to become a novice.
At this stage, she will receive a white tunic, scapular and veil.
She is a member of the Order, but can leave the Community at any time. The duration of the Noviciate is two years
She is then free to decide if she wishes to live in the Community.
The Temporary Profession is an engagement for a determined time (3 to 9 years).
The novice receives the black scapular, belt and white veil. She pronounces in the hands of the Abbess the vows of stability, conversion of life and obedience. This ceremony does not take place in Church but in the midst of the Community.
The Solemn Profession takes place in Church. It is a deepening of Baptism, a definitive engagement until death.
The sister receives a white shawl and a black veil.
There we have to understand that no one is able to take such an engagement. It is God himself who invites us and grants us the grace to answer his own call.
“I believe in God’s faithfulness, for ever and ever” Ps 51 (52),10
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