Legion Vocations

Novitiate – Living the life of a Legionary   

The third step in the process of discernment to priesthood with the Legionaries of Christ is the Novitiate program.  For those who attended a Test Your Call retreat and went on to take the Candidacy challenge, then the Novitiate is the step if you have found that God is asking you to take the next step in discernment.  

The Novitiate is where you live the Legionary life of a seminarian for two years.  You’ll receive a cassock and become focused on intense prayer and spiritual growth to determine if you have a call or to validate your call to the priesthood.

Living the religious lifestyle without professing vows gives you the opportunity to truly know what you are getting into and to know firsthand that you have the virtue and courage to live the courageous vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  Through the Novitiate experience you developing understanding of exactly what is involved and later take vows with full knowledge of the courageous path you are embarking upon.  The program is designed so that you’ll see whether the Legionary priesthood is for you, whether you can do it, and most important to validate that this is a call from God.

The formation over the two years will give you an in-depth experience of prayer and discernment that is centered on Christ and understanding who He is.  Included in the formation process are two activities a day that include sports and outdoor adventures.

At the end of the two years, you’ll be in a position to discern your path and make the decision on whether to take the next steps of the life of a seminarian.  The next step involves taking what we call “first vows” which is simply a temporary vow of poverty, chastity and obedience while you continue in your seminarian formation for another two years.