Training
Joining the Sisters of Charity of Saint Mary
There are many benefits to joining our Congregation :
- Fulfillment
- Illumination
- Support
- Life devoted to charity
- Open and responsible missionary community.
A Sister of Charity of Saint Mary is patient and caring toward everyone – both the young and the young at heart. Be it in the middle of the school year or in the middle of the summer, she knows that a smile and a word of encouragement or guidance are ways of making the presence of Jesus Christ known.
At a glance…
Education with the Sisters of Charity of Saint Mary means :
- A deeper spirituality and a closer relationship with the Lord
- Develop your intellectual capacities
- Discovery of your talents
- Profession of first vows
- Profession of perpetual vows, after five years
- Being a bride of Christ.
Becoming a Sister of Charity
Step 1. Initiate (vocational orientation)
The initiate acquires a more profound understanding of her baptismal call – the first call of religious life. She becomes familiar with community and apostolic life.
Step 2. Postulant (6-9 months)
This is a period of personal growth, internalization of values and gradual self-surrender in order to be more open to the will of God.
Step 3. Novitiate (2 years)
The novitiate devotes a great deal of time to her studies. She receives a solid education in the theology pertaining to religious life and the constitutions of the Congregation.
Step 4. Juniorate (5-9 years)
The juniorate continues her intellectual and religious education to strengthen her union with God in her heart and recognize her place within the Congregation.
Step 5. Perpetual Profession
This is a definitive commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Perpetual vows are taken freely and represent the most important and most generous gift that can be given back to God. With the profession of these vows, the Sister of Charity of Saint Mary devotes herself to the Lord, pledges her service to her fellow human beings and becomes, like the Congregation’s founder, a true friend to the poor (Summ 330, 1197). She offers her God-given gifts and graces to the Congregation and is embraced by the community of sisters, where she can live her apostolic life to the fullest.