Quodlibet 11 : Stages of Dominican Formation

I was wondering if you could go over the stages of becoming a Dominican priest - from the clothing onwards. I tend to get a bit confused as to what you do and when.

Men who have been accepted as postulants for the Order move in to the novitiate house and do a week's retreat with the novitiate community. The new novices are clothed in the habit at the end of the retreat in a simple, private ceremony.



Once they are clothed they become novices and spend twelve months living in the novitiate house, becoming accustomed to our way of life: the Divine Office, community life, the history and government of the Order, Dominican spiritual writers, as well as learning to cook (if necessary), studying Latin, and so on. The novices must decide whether or not they wish to proceed at the end of the year and the community must decide whether or not the novices are suited to our life. The novitiate is a time for getting to know and (hopefully) love the Order. 

At the end of the novitiate year if the novices wish to continue and are approved by the brothers they proceed to 'simple' vows: they take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience but only for three years. When they make profession their scapulars (the tabbard-like piece of fabric that goes on top of the tunic) are blessed. They are no longer novices then but simply professed student brothers.



After simple profession the brothers begin their studies for the priesthood - doing two years of philosophy and three years of theology. After three years they must decide whether or not to commit their entire lives to the Order and make 'solemn' vows: the same vows of poverty, chastity and obedience but now 'until death'. In the Dominican formula of profession reference is made only to obedience - which does not mean we take the other two less seriously but that we understand them to be included in obedience which is the most radical of the vows, touching human nature most deeply. If the student brothers decide to do this and are approved by the brothers they make their solemn profession. Usually they have about another year of studies left before they are ordained to the diaconate and then a final year, normally spent working as a deacon in one of our parishes, after which they are ordained to the priesthood.

So the stages of Dominican formation are: postulancy (just a week in the English province but longer elsewhere), novitiate, simple profession, solemn profession, diaconate, priesthood.