Our Spiritan Novitiate is located in the parish of St. Mary Magdalene
in Chicago. Because of the presence of the Chicago
Theological Union in the city, there are a number of Religious
Congregations which have decided to set up Novitiates there. This has
lead to the creation of a very helpful and dynamic Inter-Novitiate
programme where novices from both male and female Congregations can
meet on a regular basis to explore topics in Religious life common to
them.
The Novitiate year is a time of intense prayer and spiritual guidance
as well as a time of deepening one's knowledge of the Spiritans; our
founders, our history, our charism, and our ministries worldwide. At
the end of the Novitiate year in August of 2009, the novices will
take first vows known as "temporary" vows, and hopefully
after a few years, final vows (permanent or "perpetual").
This year, we are blessed to have five novices participating in the
Novitiate, one from the U.S.A., two from Haiti and two from Canada.
They are under the able direction of the Novice Master, Fr. Brandon
Nguyen, CSSp and the Assistant Director, Fr. Barney Kelly, CSSp.
