The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States has announced a major reorganization of the initial formation of its members, which will reduce the number of novitiates from five to only two across North America. The measure, communicated in a letter dated July 9 and signed by the five provincials of the region, will take effect in 2028 and aims to address both the decline in vocations and the need to concentrate resources dedicated to formation.
The two new novitiates will be located in Detroit (Michigan) and Culver City (California). The first will welcome candidates from the USA Midwest, USA East, and Canada provinces, while the second will bring together novices from the USA West and USA Central and Southern provinces. Each will have the capacity to house up to thirty novices.
Father Joseph Daoust, SJ, superior of the Jesuit community in Detroit, explained to the outlet Detroit Catholic that maintaining five novitiates requires a significant number of experienced formators. “Running five novitiates requires a great deal of high-quality Jesuit personnel,” he stated. According to him, each formation house needs between three and four Jesuits dedicated to accompanying the novices, so concentrating them in two locations will allow more religious to be assigned to other apostolic works of the Society.
The reduction also responds to the evolution of vocations. According to the conference leaders, the number of candidates entering each year in the five current novitiates ranges from one to twelve per community, a variability that makes it difficult to maintain stable and sufficiently large formation groups.
The novitiate constitutes the first stage of a Jesuit’s formation and lasts two years. During that time, candidates make the thirty-day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, participate in apostolic experiences in various ministries, and study the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Ignatian spirituality.
The superiors also believe that the new model will offer formative advantages. In the letter sent to members of the Society, they note that the system of novitiates shared among several provinces will allow for the formation of larger communities and provide candidates with “the best available formators,” while also fostering exchange among young people from different parts of North America.
The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States brings together the five provinces of the Society of Jesus in both countries and coordinates joint initiatives from its headquarters in Washington. The reorganization of the novitiates represents one of the most significant changes in the formative structure of North American Jesuits since the provincial reorganization completed during the past decade.