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 Stages of Jesuit Formation
The Jesuits of the Missouri Province usually study together with men from other provinces through the various stages of their formation.
The Novitiate
After a man has been accepted as a candidate for the Society of Jesus, he will enter the first stage of training by becoming a novice in the Jesuit novitiate in St. Paul, Minnesota. He will find himself with companions from the provinces of Wisconsin and English Canada. A man can enter as a novice scholastic (with the desire for priesthood) or as a novice brother. The novitiate program lasts for two years. If, during this time, with the help of the novice directors, the man has discerned that God is calling him to life in the Society of Jesus, the provincial will confirm this discernment by inviting him to take his first perpetual vows.
First Studies
When a man has taken his first vows, he receives his first mission or assignment to a period of formation called first studies. The United States Assistancy of the Society of Jesus sponsors three first studies programs. The programs are located at Fordham University in New York City, Loyola University in Chicago, and Saint Louis University in St. Louis. All scholastics (the title of priesthood candidates after first vows) are required to complete 36 hours of philosophy and 24 hours of graduate-level theology. All brothers (the title for those choosing a non-ordained form of Jesuit vocation) will take studies appropriate to their academic interests. Depending on a man’s academic background, there are the possibilities of earning an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree in philosophy, or a graduate degree in some other discipline. The first studies program usually lasts three years. Ordinarily the first studies program is completed by a project that synthesizes the various disciplines he has been studying. The synthesis is defended in what is called the De Universa exam.
Regency
Upon completion of his first studies program, the Jesuit scholastic or brother receives an apostolic assignment as a part of his formation process. The apostolic mission or assignment called regency lasts usually for two or three years. Most frequently the assignment is to teaching in a province high school or university setting but he could be assigned to some kind of pastoral or social service ministry.
Theology Studies
After a Jesuit has completed his regency period, he expresses to his provincial a desire to complete his theology studies in preparation for ordination to the priesthood. Within the United States Assistancy, the Society of Jesus conducts two theology centers, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in California (JSTB) and Weston Jesuit School of Theology at Boston College in Massachusetts (WJST). For the brother, some theology training at either of these two centers or at one of the Jesuit universities is the common expectation. The brother’s theology training often lasts two years and can lead to a graduate degree. The scholastic’s theology training commonly lasts three years, at the end of which he is ordained to the priesthood.
Tertianship
In Jesuit formation, there is a final stage called tertianship. Tertian is a word meaning “third,” and it refers to the two-year novitiate which was the beginning of the Jesuit formation. Tertianship is meant to be a kind of third year of novitiate, with the emphasis again on the spiritual formation of the Jesuit priest or brother. For the brother, tertianship comes no sooner than the completion of 10 years in the Society. For the priest, tertianship is meant to come within the three years after ordination. For many it comes after the completion of a graduate degree or the accomplishment of university tenure. The tertianship program takes a number of forms: a nine-month program, a six month program, or a two-summer program. After he completes his tertianship program, a Jesuit is invited by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus to pronounce his final vows and be fully incorporated into the order.
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