Vocational

Following-up on the future Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers is a primordial task for the Congregation. After all, we should never forget the purpose of arousing new and saint vocations. The invitation that resonated in the hearts of the Apostles to be fishers of men is still made today to many men and women.

To help those endowed with such vocation in their discernment process, each Redemptorist province implements a vocational animation work. In Sao Paulo, the Redemptorist Vocational Secretariat is exclusively dedicated to that work, but all Redemptorist Missionaries must be vocational agents.

The fundamental purpose of the Redemptorist formation is the same: to prepare for a consecrated life (dedication of one’s life to God) and for the Redemptorist mission at the service of the Church and of the Congregation.

The vocational discernment process is targeted to youngsters from the age of 15 until they reach adulthood. Along this path all of them go through four basic stages that comprise their initial formation: aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate and juniorate.

José Augusto de Lima

Candidates to become Fathers and Brothers cover different paths during their formation. They receive a common religious basic teaching, but there is a differentiation during their academic life. However, the fundamental purpose of the Redemptorist formation is the same: to prepare for a consecrated life (dedication of one’s life to God) and for the Redemptorist mission at the service of the Church and of the Congregation.

In case a young person cannot adapt to the formation process, for any reason, he/she is advised to proceed with his/her formation in another congregation or diocese, or to be a layperson engaged with his/her community because he/she then will also be acting as a messenger of the Good News of the Kingdom.