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How Do I Become a Friar?

The Program of Initial Formation is a gradual process of personal, spiritual, and ministerial development. During Initial Formation, a candidate is helped to develop his personal character and theological understanding so he will be able to live and work effectively with other men as a Franciscan friar in service to the Church. There are three areas of Initial Formation.

Postulancy:
Men in formation begin their journey as postulants, spending a year or two living with our friar community at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, Mass., and engaging in various aspects of their life and work. During this time, the candidate is presented with resources (e.g. workshops, personal advisors) to help him develop the psychological and emotional qualities necessary for religious life and ministry.

Novitiate:
As a novice, the candidate's goal is to deepen his relationship with God. Receiving the habit, he is introduced more intensely to the Rule of Life of the friars and to the history and traditions of the Franciscan Order. At the conclusion of the novitiate year, which takes place at St. Paul Friary in Wilmington, Del., the candidate professes his first vows (poverty, chastity, and obedience) as a Franciscan friar.

Post-Novitiate:
For the next three or four years, living at Holy Name College in Silver Spring, Md., student friars hone their ministerial skills while taking coursework related to their field of interest. Friars who are candidates for priesthood are enrolled in a Master of Divinity degree program at nearby Washington Theological Union.

The friar's initial formation concludes with the profession of solemn or final vows, an event which fully incorporates him into the Province and the Franciscan Order. Friars preparing for ordination receive an additional year of training.

Prayer for Discernment

"Most high, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me, Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, insight and wisdom, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command."
– St. Francis of Assisi