Each year, on August 13th, the men who have been accepted as candidates to our religious community and have gone through the six-week period of postulancy are accepted into our community as novices in a private ceremony.

The novitiate year will be spent as "Novices" learning about prayer and the spiritual life, about the religious life and the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and about the history and charism of the Fathers of Mercy. They will study the life of our Holy Founder, Father Jean Baptiste Rauzan, and learn what it means to be true sons of Father Rauzan and apostles of God's Infinite Mercy. Their studies and daily life will be under the direction of the Novice Master, who will also assist them in discerning God's Will in their lives. At the end of the novitiate year, the men who have discerned, with the help of the community, that their vocation is indeed to be a Father of Mercy, will profess their First Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience on August 14th, the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, which is also the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother into Heaven. After First Profession, the new Brothers will continue their religious formation under the direction of the Student Master and begin their studies for the Sacred Priesthood.

Father Louis Caporiccio has been the Novice Master of our Congregation since 1998. A number of the professed members have previously been in formation under his guidance.

Saint Joseph’s Novitiate Daily Schedule Includes:

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Liturgy of the Hours
The Holy Rosary
Holy Hour - Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Meditation, Benediction
Spiritual Reading
Classes on the Religious Life and the History of the Congregation
Manual Labor
Private Time for Reading, Prayer, etc.
Community Recreation