The Application Process – three stages
1st Enquiries
In this early stage of approach to the Society you will wish to come to know the Society; and the Society, represented by the Vocations Director, will wish to come to know you.
This stage of enquiry comes to an end when you decide either that the Jesuits are not for you, or that you wish to make a formal application to the Society and this desire is confirmed by the Vocations Director.
During the stage of enquiry, the following are essential:
- To establish a regular pattern of prayer and deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ
- To read about the Jesuits, and in particular about St. Ignatius Loyola
- To meet the Vocations Director on a number of occasions
- To visit one or other Jesuit community
- To do something that may lead you into a greater sense of freedom in regards to the possibility of vocation.
Candidacy
When the Vocations Director confirms that the time has come to apply to the Society of Jesus, you will then be considered a ‘candidate’.
During the stage of candidacy you will be:
- Invited to make a silent retreat of up to eight days
- Given a Jesuit Spiritual director with whom you can meet once a month
- Encouraged to visit Jesuit communities to get to know the Jesuits and the work of the Society better
- Invited to the novitiate to see what the life of the Jesuit novices is like
Applying
Applying to the Society involves:
- completing an application form and writing a 2000 word autobiography.
- A first interview after which 4 references are taken up
- A psychological assessment
- A second interview (individual meetings with four interviewers)
- A meeting with the Provincial