NOVITIATE
After completing the period of postulancy, if a person believes God may be calling her to join the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, she then applies for the next step of formation; the novitiate. The novitiate is a very structured place, with a two years period of seclusion and intense prayer in which the novice enters more deeply into the process of discernment.
During the novitiate period, the novices are assisted and directed by their formators and spiritual directors in living and learning the life. Also, the novices study more about the way of life of our congregation, including our constitution, history, spirituality, mission, and charism. they are led to deepen their relationship with God and are introduced more intensely to the Franciscan way of life, prayer, silence, fraternity, and apostolate of our congregation. After the conclusion of the novitiate years, the novices make a profession of the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience as temporary professed sisters.