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EnglishWhat It Means to Become a Jesuit Novice in Jesuits West
Updated
Becoming a Jesuit novice means entering the first formal stage of Jesuit formation: a period of prayer, community life, study, and service designed to test and deepen a man's calling before he professes vows. In Jesuits West, this stage begins at the Jesuit Novitiate of the Three Companions in Culver City, California, where the province welcomed five new novices in August, according to the province's homepage. The novitiate is not yet a permanent commitment — it is a time of discernment, and the province's own news items show what comes next: first vows, then ordained or other ministry.
What the novitiate is
The novitiate is the entry point into the Society of Jesus. A man who enters is called a novice, and the novitiate is structured to let him live the Jesuit way of life before making any vows.
Jesuits West's site frames this within Ignatian spirituality, which it describes as encountering God in all things, going into the world as "contemplatives in action," and discerning God's desire for one's life "here, now." The novitiate is where that posture is first practiced in a sustained way.
Typical elements of the novitiate, as reflected in the province's descriptions of Jesuit life and formation:
- Prayer and the Spiritual Exercises — the retreat framework attributed to St. Ignatius, used for discernment.
- Community life — living and praying with other novices and Jesuit formators.
- Service and mission — the province's four Universal Apostolic Preferences name walking with the poor, accompanying young people, and care for our Common Home as guiding commitments.
- Spiritual accompaniment — direction and mentoring to help a novice read his own experience.
How the path progresses, as Jesuits West reports it
The province's news items give a concrete sequence:
| Stage | What Jesuits West reports |
|---|---|
| Entrance | Five new novices welcomed at the Novitiate of the Three Companions in Culver City, California, in August |
| First vows | Three Jesuits West novices — Connor Murphy, SJ, Nhat Nguyen, SJ, and Vincent Nguyen, SJ — professed first vows on August 8 |
| Later ministry | Michael Castori, SJ, of Jesuits West was ordained and installed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu on July 28 |
So the novitiate is a beginning, not an endpoint. First vows mark the end of the novitiate stage and the start of the next phase of formation; ordained ministry and other leadership come much later, after further study and years of service.
Who this is for, and how to explore it
This path is for men considering Jesuit priesthood or brotherhood who want a structured, Church-supported way to discern that call. The province's homepage includes a Become a Jesuit entry point for those exploring vocation, alongside ways to connect with Jesuit parishes and spirituality centers.
If you are asking the question for yourself or someone else, a practical starting sequence is:
- Visit the Jesuits West site and use the Become a Jesuit link to see how the province describes the process.
- Read the province's vocation-related stories — the novice welcome and first-vows announcements show what the early years actually look like.
- If you want to go further, contact the province's vocation office through the site rather than relying on general descriptions alone.
The site does not publish details such as application requirements, timelines, or costs, so those specifics need to come from the province directly. What the homepage does make clear is the shape of the journey: enter as a novice, live the Ignatian way in community, discern, and — for those who continue — profess first vows and move into lifelong ministry.