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To Know: Jesuit Formation
 When we invest in Jesuit Formation, we invest in the fidelity of God and in God's care for the Church and the Society of Jesus. Jesuit priests and brothers are formed through many years of study and experience — both as students and as ministers in training.
Typically lasting more than a decade, the formation process begins even before a man arrives for the two years of novitiate. The initial application process requires four major interviews, a psychological exam, background check, and complete spiritual autobiography. The entire formation process includes everything from two 30-day silent retreats to extensive schooling in theology and philosophy; from immersion experiences among the poor of the world to preparation in spiritual direction and counseling; from sacramental training to training in professional boundaries. All this, so that Jesuits might serve with intelligence and virtue, and with a spiritual fire that shows their joy in being men vowed to poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Such preparation is neither easy nor inexpensive, costing an average of $33,450 per year to educate and sustain a Jesuit scholastic, upwards of $330,000 for the entire course of studies. Yet Jesuits earn little or no salary during most of their formation. It is essential, therefore, that those who value our mission and our works invest generously in Jesuit formation.
The Oregon Province currently has 40 men in various stages of formation. Their preparation is supported by the Province’s Formation Fund, which, at present, funds roughly half of the financial burden incurred annually by the Province. The good news for those we serve, however, is that the number of Jesuits in formation in the Northwest is likely to remain at the current level — if not increase — in the years to come. These numbers make the Oregon Province — with a very small Catholic population — the second largest formation program in the United States .
The aim of Jesuit Formation, has always been to elicit great desires, to enflame those desires with a Spirit that finds God in all things and all things in God, to provide the tools by which desire to serve can become effective service, to form a community of passionate, dedicated servants of God.
While Jesuits are continually formed in the Spirit throughout their lifetime, the following stages of Jesuit Formation are supported by the Formation Fund:
Novitiate
The first two years of Jesuit formation offers a series of experiments — e.g., pilgrimages, work among the poor, teaching — which expose a man to Jesuit life. Key to this time is the 30-day silent retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. After two years, a novice applies for his first - or simple - vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and becomes a Jesuit Scholastic or a Jesuit brother.
A Scholastic is a Jesuit who is preparing for priesthood, while a brother is one who is not. Though the majority of Jesuits are or will be ordained priests, some Jesuits are not called to sacramental ministry but still wish to serve the Church in the Society. The Jesuit Brothers are fully members of the Society, but have some differences in their formation, since they will not be doing priestly sacramental ministry.
First Studies
Sometimes called "Philosophy Studies" these two or three years invite the young Jesuit to integrate his spiritual and intellectual life; to see, through careful study of culture and history of ideas, the workings of God. Often during this time, Jesuits earn advanced degrees in philosophy or other disciplines. Currently, there are three Jesuit First Studies programs in the United States: St. Louis University in St. Louis, Loyola University in Chicago, and Fordham University in New York City.
Regency
Following First Studies, a Jesuit Scholastic will often be missioned to a long-term assignment to serve for one to three years in an apostolic work of the Society. In high schools and universities, in parishes or in other works, the young Jesuit gains experience and skills for later ministry, while continuing to discern the call to priestly ordination.
Theology
Coming off his Regency work, the Jesuit Scholastic returns to studies to prepare directly for priestly ordination. Earning at least a Master of Divinity (M. Div.) degree, such Jesuits usually spend approximately three years before priestly ordination in one of the theologates of the Society. In the U.S. there are two such theological centers: the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both theological centers welcome Jesuits from the US and around the world.
Tertianship
Three to five years after ordination, Jesuits undergo this "third probation." Tertianship repeats many of the experiences of Novitiate, including the 30-day retreat, but in light of the many years of Jesuit ministry. This "school of the heart" reconnects the Jesuit with the original grace which led him into the Society of Jesus and prepares him for the invitation to final - or solemn - vows, in which he will become fully and finally incorporated.
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