Becoming a Marianist Sister
Initial Formation Contact Pre-Novitiate Novitiate Temporary Profession
Pre-Novitiate
When a contact, in dialogue with the Sisters, prayerfully decides that she is ready for the next phase of discernment, she begins the Pre-Novitiate. A Pre-Novice lives in community and fully participates in community life. During the Pre-Novitiate, the young woman has a Pre-Novitiate director – a Sister with whom she walks in discernment.
There is no “formal” program of study, however, in living in community and meeting with the director, the Pre-Novice begins to understand what it means to live the life of a Sister. It serves as a sort of “orientation” to the life of a Marianist Sister. Typically, the Pre-Novice also has a ministry with which she is involved. The time of Pre-Novitiate can be anywhere from six months to two years.
