1
Institute of the Daughters of Charity
Servants of the Poor
Plan of Formation
2
PREFACE
The XV General Chapter was clearly an invitation to
radical renewal in the quality of our Religious life and
apostolic presence in today’s world. Our reflections on the
theme of the Chapter “for the sake of Christ with St.
Magdalene – the life of Consecration: the Vows Today”,
challenged us and directed us to a journey of continuous
conversion and transformation. The Chapter members felt the
need of revising the Plan of Formation “taking into account
the characteristics of the younger generations, the orientation
of the Chapter and the more recent documents and the
internationality of the Congregation”. (GCR 11)
The General Council was happy to involve all the Sisters in
the process of revising the formation plan and in making it
more relevant and practical. The different commissions took up
their mandate with great sense of responsibility and made
suggestions to include formative processes for all at the
different stages of formation. The final international
commission that met in Rome collated the suggestions of the
different commissions in such a way as to make it inspiring and
meaningful for all those who consider personal formative
journey a priority. With the expert guidance of Fr. Amedeo
Cencini fdcc, our on-going formation is given its place of
priority. Our thanks go to Fr. Amedeo and to all the
commission members, especially for those who worked on it till
the last with great dedication and care.
We had the possibility of revising the text during the
international meeting of the Formators in September 2012 and
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during the Extended General Consultation in Nov. 2012. We
appreciate the critical comments and concrete proposals of the
Formators and the Provincial Councils.
I am happy to present this Plan of Formation to each of the
Sisters of our Religious Family and to recommend it for our
perusal in our formative journey. ‘The proper renewal of
religious institutes depends chiefly on the formation of their
members’. (Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes) It
is through a focused formative process that an individual
becomes more and more a disciple of Christ and a Canossian
becomes a true Daughter of Charity. When we are focused,
formation becomes a continuous process of conversion and
transformation, leading to the renewal of the Institute and its
charismatic re-vitalization.
This edition of our Plan of Formation provides us with new
insights and suggests processes that will ensure an on-going
formation to all irrespective of age and stages of formation. A
harmonious and holistic growth will take place, through the
continuous assimilation of the evangelical and charismatic
values, through spirit of prayer, deepening of the Word of God,
and meaningful participation in the sacraments.
We are living in times of radical and swift cultural changes
which necessitate a constantly renewed way of understanding
the world situation today. This also calls for new and fresh
ways of reading, discerning and interpreting the signs of the
times. Keeping ourselves open to the Holy Spirit, responding to
the invitation of St. Magdalene of Canossa to “look and do
likewise” we will gradually be able to assume the form of the
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Son and the Servant, ‘have the same mind that was in Christ
Jesus’. If we make use of all the possibilities open for our ongoing and integrated formative journey, we can ensure for
ourselves profound spiritual and charismatic awakening and
growth. This handbook on Canossian formation could be of
immense help in this journey.
I hope and pray that this ‘Plan of Formation’ will provide
each of us with inspiration that sustains the charismatic vision
of our Foundress in our lives and empowers us with apostolic
motivation and commitment to make Jesus known and loved
and to be joyful and prophetic witnesses in our world today.
Rome, 25th March 2013
M. Margaret Peter
Superior General
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INTRODUCTION
OUR INSTITUTE AND FORMATION
In this moment of history the Institute is called to renew itself
by a constant openness to a “mentality of change” and
consequently to reconsider the whole question of formation.
The term “formation” should not be seen merely as a reference
to the characteristic task of the initial period of the Religious
Life. Initial Formation must, of course, be given special
importance, but formation does not end there. It is a process
which lasts a lifetime and concerns every Sister.
Precisely because the Institute considers Formation “a key
process to sustain and promote our Canossian identity in its
historical evolution and in a context of rapid socio-cultural
change” 1 , it asks those who are called to the Institute to
cultivate a continuous willingness to let themselves be formed
by life and for the whole of life in a “gradual identification with
the attitude of Christ”2, according to the specific charism that
Magdalene of Canossa, our Holy Foundress, handed on to us,
her Daughters.
The great gift of a call to this holy Institute of Charity3 needs to
be accepted, cared for and cultivated day after day, in the
ordinary everyday life of each Daughter of Charity, Servant of
the Poor, at whatever age or in whatever situation in life. It is
the gift of the Greatest Love, contemplated in Jesus Crucified,
fully accepted by Our Lady of Sorrows who became the
1
XV General Chapter, Chapter Resolutions, 2008, 17.
John Paul II, Consecrated Life, 1996, n. 65.
3
cf. Magdalene of Canossa, Regole e Scritti Spirituali, I, Rome 1984, 23.
2
6
Mother of Charity at the foot of the Cross, and which
empowers each Sister to love.
It is this same gift that expands the heart of the Canossian
Daughter of Charity to go “everywhere ... for the Glory of God
and the salvation of souls”4, in obedience to Jesus’ command
“Euntes in universum mundum” (Mt. 28:19), to make Jesus
known and loved since He “is not loved because He is not
known.”5
The Institute, through the Superior General, is the guarantor
and guardian of this gift. It ensures that all the Sisters are
committed to bringing it to fruition through a serious process of
conforming to Christ Crucified and following the example of
Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, the unique and “only Mother” 6.
This is a journey lived in freedom and responsibility and no
one may be exempted from the duty of striving to conform her
life to that of Christ.
The Superior General is also mandated to maintain
communion and fidelity to the Gospel and the Charism within
the Institute. The Plan of Formation is a means to this end. Its
general guidelines are based on theological and pedagogical
principles, but given the fact that we are an international
Religious Institute, it also takes into account the need to adapt
to the cultures of different countries.
The impact of globalization, the advances in information
technology and the sciences, the recent climate changes and
the radically transformative socio-cultural consequences
4
Magdalene of Canossa, Epistolario II/2, Rome 1984, 1174.
Magdalene of Canossa, Regole e Scritti Spirituali, I, Rome 1984, 180.
6
Ibid., 25.
5
7
strongly affect the mentality and lifestyle of all, not only the
young.
Therefore, it is necessary to have an adequate formation plan
which guarantees that every Daughter of Charity will be helped
to grow toward a clear charismatic identity.
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THE PLAN OF FORMATION
OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY
SERVANTS OF THE POOR
Significance
The Plan of Formation aims to re-express in pedagogical
terms, the formation content of the Rule of Life. It includes the
general, educational and pedagogical guidelines which
translate the Canossian charism into a formative journey.
The Formation Programmes of the various Provinces are
based on the Plan of Formation of the Institute, which allows
for adaption according to the needs and characteristics of the
local culture. This adaption must always be in dynamic fidelity
to the gift received from the Spirit. The renewed Plan of
Formation makes use of the contributions of our sisters, as
well as the most recent documents of the Church’s teaching
on Consecrated Life and the written works of the Institute.
Criteria
Given the fact that formation is an on-going process, this plan
gives an overall view of the formative journey of the Daughter
of Charity, Servant of the Poor. It reflects both the unity of the
process and also its dynamic uniqueness, taking into account
the fact that formation is, of its very nature, a gradual and
concrete process. The plan is not a definitive text, written once
and for all, but may be updated, both in its language and in its
processes, whenever such renewal becomes necessary.
However, this document remains the reference document for
the whole Institute.
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Persons in formation
The Plan of Formation is addressed to every Sister of the
Institute regardless of her stage of life. It invites her to renew
herself in the awareness that formation is a responsibility that
knows no age limits and that all of us are continually in
formation. This commitment, always relevant and challenging,
demands that we live with the same sentiments of Christ
Crucified until the moment we are transfigured in Him, that is,
until the moment of death.
The privileged recipients of the Plan of Formation are, in
particular, the Sisters responsible for each stage of formation,
and the young people in the initial phase of formation.
The use of a General Plan of Formation for the whole Institute
allows us to have:
 a common reference to the essential characteristics of our
charism which are valid in all cultures and to pedagogical
principles strictly bound to the theology of the charism.
 continuity in the various stages of formation.
 the possibility of healthy rotation of the Sisters in charge of
formation.
 systematic dialogue among various cultures.
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PART ONE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF
CANOSSIAN FORMATION
GOAL OF FORMATION
Human formation is a complex process with well-defined
phases. It is always open and dynamic and it needs to be
understood within an anthropological framework.
This is why faith education and formation in an Institute, with
its particular charism, require an explicit orientation regarding
the concepts of the human person and of vocation.
In this Plan of Formation the Institute also takes into
consideration the new discoveries in human sciences
regarding the human person.
According to the Christian anthropological view of life every
person is a ‘mystery’. Life is open to the action of God, a gift
through which the human person discovers God and enters
into dialogue with Him. But we can also say that life itself is a
mystery. Our own personal vocation story is the place where
we discover God and dialogue with Him.
Thus, to form means understanding life as a mystery
expressed in two ways: having our gaze fixed on the Lord
while remaining bound by the realities of life; searching
beyond and finding within, moving out of self and re-entering
within self.7
The call to Consecrated Life is seen in this light and
understood as a dynamic call on the part of God the Creator,
7
cf. F. Imoda, Sviluppo umano. Psicologia e mistero, Casale Monferrato,
1995, 17-76.
11
and of a response on the part of the creature: “In fact, every
human being is called by God, the Giver of life, to transcend
self in the freedom of love.”8
This vision of the person places particular value on the
relational dimension and supports the holistic model of
formation.
The same line of thought can be found in our Foundress,
St. Magdalene of Canossa, who, more than two hundred years
ago, defined vocation to her Institute of Charity as “a great gift
of God”9 which was given “gratuitously by the Lord’s liberality.
You, my dear Sisters, have the duty to correspond worthily to
such a great grace.”10
So, according to the thought of our Foundress, the vocation to
Canossian Consecrated Life is the choice of a dynamic life
since it requires an ever deeper and personal relationship with
“God, source and essence of holiness”11 who, may even invite
a Daughter of Charity to make her own the missionary passion
of St. Magdalene to go “wherever the need is greatest.”12
For this reason, “commitment to formation never ends: […]
formation should therefore touch the person deeply, so that all
her attitudes and actions, at important moments as well as in
the ordinary events of life, will show that she belongs
completely and joyfully to God.”13
The goal of the formation of each Daughter of Charity is “a
path of gradual identification with the attitude of Christ towards
the Father”14 so that each one of us assumes and identifies
herself more and more with the name she bears, Daughter of
8
A. Cencini, Vita consacrata. Itinerario formativo lungo la via di Emmaus,
Cinisello Balsamo 1994, 44.
9
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 23.
10
Ibid., 89.
11
Ibid., 24.
12
Magdalene, Collection of Letters III/1, 757.
13
John Paul II, Consecrated Life, n. 65.
14
Ibid.
12
Charity – Servant of the Poor. It is a name which expresses a
sense of belonging, indicates a mission and urges us to
respond.
This name expresses the fact that each Sister belongs to the
Lord, that she is His Daughter, completely and forever, a
Daughter of God who is Love.
This name indicates a mission “since our vocation is to assist
the poor as much as we can”15 and, as Servants of the Poor,
“we owe them our attention, labour, care and thoughts.”16
The name demands that we empty ourselves of everything,
seek God alone, and consider all other things relative so that
only Charity may dwell in our hearts.
Formation aims at realizing the identity of a Daughter of
Charity – Servant of the Poor. It must fulfil the task of
“handing on, in its entirety and perfection”17 the spirit and the
charism of the Institute, as well as taking into account the
uniqueness of new generations, for God’s Glory and the good
of our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest.
SOURCES
The Love of the Crucified Lord, the source of Magdalene’s
charism, is the sap which nourishes the efficacy and meaning
of every formative project.
The Daughter of Charity, Servant of the Poor, draws the
wisdom of this love from:




the Word of God
the Magisterium of the Church
the charism of the Institute
life: its history and culture
15
Magdalene, Collection of Letters III/1, 501.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 23.
17
Ibid, 165.
16
13
The Word of God
The Word of God is our daily companion through the liturgy,
spiritual reading and meditation. It nourishes our ability to
discern, educates us to spiritual dialogue and empowers us to
communicate the Gospel to others. It gives firm grounding to
our apostolic zeal and helps us all to integrate faith and life.18
In fact, the Word “is alive and active: it cuts like any doubleedged sword but more finely; it can slip through the place
where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the
marrow; it can judge secret emotions and thoughts” (Heb
4:12). It invites us to listen constantly to the heart of God in
order to discover His loving presence, always and everywhere,
allowing ourselves to be formed by His love, according to the
gift we have received. In every situation that poses a question
and demands an appropriate answer from us, the Word of God
“promotes, within the community, an ever more evangelical
mentality and the ability to discern the will of God today by
means of the signs of the times”19. It provokes new questions,
prompts new reflections and leads to new responses.
In fact, it is in listening to the Word of God that the call to live
communion and mission is born. This is particularly true of the
Word of God heard during the Eucharistic celebration, which
was always a special charismatic and spiritual moment for St.
Magdalene. Our faith matures through a constant relationship
with the Word of God in prayer and can offer light to others.
Moreover, the Word of God constantly and creatively invites us
to practise non-violence and become peacemakers. Like the
disciples in the Gospel, we allow ourselves to be formed in
order to live and promote justice at all times. We take a critical
and analytical stance with regard to all abuse, violation of
human rights and the new forms of poverty in today’s society.
18
19
cf. XIV General Chapter, Chapter Resolutions, 2002, 10.
XIII General Chapter, Chapter Resolutions, 1996, 38.
14
We look to St. Josephine Bakhita, a woman of the gospel, as a
model of forgiveness and reconciliation.20
“We are called to contemplate the presence of God in creation,
in persons and events and discern the divine action in the
world and in the cosmos surrounding us, looking with the eyes
of the Father and judging with the heart of Christ, so as to act
according to Spirit-inspired values.”21
The Magisterium of the Church
Our charism is a special gift God has entrusted to the Institute
for the life of the Church and which has grown within it. Only
within the heart of the Church, universal and local, can it find
guidance, nourishment, support and the care that it needs to
grow in dynamic fidelity to the Gospel and to its specific
identity. Each of us, a living member of the Church, every day
comes to know its deepest longings and how to respond to
them offering herself, according to the example of St.
Magdalene, our Foundress and Mother.22
For us the teachings of the Pope and Bishops are a sure guide
for orienting our formation. In the same way the documents
issued by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life
and Societies of Apostolic Life and National and International
Conferences of Religious are expressions of the ordinary and
solicitous care which the Church has towards Consecrated
Life.
20
cf. Canossian Daughters of Charity, Justice, peace and Integrity of
Creation, Canossian Basic Guidelines, 2004, 62.
21
Ibid, 62 .
22
cf. IX General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Consecrated
life and its mission in the Church and the world, Instrumentum Laboris,
1994, n.14.
15
The charism of the Institute
The charism of the Daughters of Charity, Servants of the poor,
is a gift that the Spirit has given to the Church through
St. Magdalene of Canossa. It finds its inspirational source in
Jesus Crucified who, on the cross reveals the Face of the
Father and the measure of love “without measure”. It is He, the
Great Exemplar, who inspires the gift of self in each Daughter
of Charity. This self-giving is expressed in the exercise of the
two-fold commandment of love for God and love of neighbour,
in a life of consecration, communion, and humble service in a
most amiable, generous and patient spirit. The desire to make
Jesus known and loved is what sustains the dedication of the
Daughter of Charity in the various ministries.
The Canossian Institute safeguards and promotes the vitality
of the foundational charism in each of us.
In order to live the charism of charity, certain attitudes and
conditions are required. These express the care, growth and
the expansion of the charism “to go even to the remotest
countries of the world.”23Just as this was asked of our sisters
who have gone before us, it is continually being asked of us
today.
The places where the charism is protected and cultivated are
essentially two: the Christian community and the fraternal
Canossian community.
The Canossian community lives within the Church in a fruitful
and reciprocal relationship. To cultivate the charism we need
to be attentive to the conditions that foster this life-giving
exchange.24
By means of the study of the charismatic sources and of
tradition and through clear directives the charism nourishes
the initial and on-going formation of each Daughter of Charity,
23
Magdalene, Epistolario II/1, 266.
cf. Institute of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, The Canossian
Charism. A Formative Approach, 2002, 36.
16
24
promoting in her the awareness and development of the gift
received and its incarnation in daily life.
The Rule of Life which has its primary source in the
Unabridged Rule is the privileged means of our charismatic
formation. Since the Rule of Life is faithful to the origins, the
fruit of a collegial discernment by the Institute and approved by
the Church, it offers specific ways to live the Gospel in a way
which can be understood by the people of today. Thus, the
charism becomes a gift for all and a sign of hope.
Life: its history and culture
God, Father of all humanity, whom Jesus has revealed to us is
also the Lord of history. Through every event, He leads us
along the path of redemption, to unite us to Him forever.
Our personal history is deeply inscribed within our being:
recognising it, knowing how to interpret it and “bringing it to
mind” become decisive in every stage of our formation, just as
it was for the people of Israel. It implies not only remembering
the events lived but, above all, discerning their meaning wisely
and perceiving the action of God within them.
In this way both our personal history and our socio-cultural
history become teachers of life, creating in us a sense of
responsibility with regard to our attitude toward our past,
present and future.
In her Memoirs, St. Magdalene, moved by the Spirit, narrated
the story of her life and call. Going beyond historical and daily
events, she was able to recognise the journey of her vocation,
to the extent of discovering the Love of Christ Crucified,
Servant and Lord, source and model of our charism.
Through the courageous and humble faithfulness of our first
Sisters, who gave continuity to the missionary zeal of St.
Magdalene, our charism finds its place in history and calls us
to make it alive and meaningful in our times.
17
Today, we are called to live our charism open to
internationality, inculturation and missionary spirit, seeking in
all cultures the seal of the eternal God, hidden beneath layers
of history that may make it difficult to discover.
We recognise that, in the cultural heritage of every people,
there is a gift to offer to humanity. However we are also aware
of the dangers of relativism and the fact that every culture has
a profound need of redemption. One way in which this
redemption can come about is through the gift of others.25
AGENTS OF FORMATION
God Alone, through the action of the Holy Spirit, is the primary
agent of our formation.
These words, written and often repeated by St. Magdalene, do
not simply recall the beginning of the Institute and the personal
story of our Foundress, but also the spiritual itinerary to which
each one of us is called.
When dealing with the vow of poverty in the Unabridged Rule,
St. Magdalene wrote: “[…] in this Institute those who practise it
with greater perfection, do so in this way: they attach
themselves to God alone, not expecting anything, not loving
anyone but Him, not wanting and not looking for anything but
God alone, in themselves, in the internal occupations and in
works of charity. The Sisters who do not want anything but
God’s Glory will be the happiest Sisters.”26
St. Magdalene invites each of her daughters, therefore, to
allow herself to be formed above all by that God who desires
to be ‘the one and only’, as she wrote in her Memoirs: “So on
recalling those things […] I had to empty myself of everything
25
cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Directives on formation in Religious Institutes, 1990, n. 9091.
26
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, 1, 55
18
and cling to Him alone, Him alone, alone. This is with regard to
my affections, my desire to please Him and my activity.”27
Christ Crucified is the centre of the identity and source of
spirituality for each Sister. In fact, Christ Crucified is for us the
theological foundation of the charism: St. Magdalene
constantly measured herself against Charity which she learned
and interpreted in the light of the Cross of Jesus. Struck in a
special way by “Inspice et fac secundum Exemplar” 28 , she
learned to contemplate deeply the mystery of the Man of the
Cross and from it she drew untiring energy for her Work.
In the same way, we are invited to look to the Crucified One as
the way that leads us to fulfil the two-fold commandment of
love. The contemplation of the virtues of the Crucified Lord obedience, humility and poverty - arouses in each one of us
love for God and for our neighbour, especially the poorest.
Consequently, we are challenged to embrace this same love
as the centre of our lives and in so doing conform our choices,
ideals and the meaning and significance of our existence to it.
Our Lady of Sorrows, “named Mother of Charity at the foot of
the Cross”29, is recognised by St. Magdalene as the model in
whom the love of the Crucified Lord found full acceptance.
For us, becoming a Daughter of Charity means to be a
transparent witness of a love without condition, as it was for
Mary.
Moreover, Our Lady of Sorrows is for us an example of faith
and contemplation, since at the foot of the Cross she knew
how to receive the Father’s most generous love. This enabled
her, at the words of her Divine Son dying on the cross, “to
accept all, even though sinners, into her heart.”30 In this way
she became a ‘disciple’ in following Christ Crucified, ‘mother’
27
Magdalene of Canossa, Memoirs. A Contemplative in Action
(commentary by E. Pollonara), Milan 1988, 119.
28
Ibid., 29.
29
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 25.
30
Ibid.
19
of humanity and ‘co-redeemer’ in the work of salvation of her
Son in the painful struggle against evil.
Every Sister is directly responsible for her fidelity to the
charism she has received and for her formation. No one can
substitute her in this exercise of freedom.
Continuously called to assume our personal responsibility for
our journey towards integration, we take constant care of our
spiritual life so as to understand and respond to the demands
of our Canossian vocation.31
During this process every Daughter of Charity, as well as
every young person, needs to keep her heart open to the
Spirit of the Lord and His mediations, which accompany them
in each stage of their formative journey.32
MEDIATIONS OF FORMATION
The whole Institute, as a community of faith endowed with a
specific gift from God for the good of the whole Church, is
responsible for the integral and harmonious growth of each
Sister belonging to it and of those who wish to join it.
In our Institute each Sister is responsible for her dynamic
fidelity to the Canossian call, responding generously to the
requests and demands of Consecrated Life, both in community
and apostolate, in each stage of Initial and On-going
Formation.
The relationship of trust and collaboration which the Institute
promotes, the criteria of its choices, the intensity of a life in the
Spirit in which it shares, contribute to the formation of its
members.
We accept in faith the mediations proper to each stage of the
formative journey.
31
32
Cf. XIV General Chapter, Resolutions, 6.
Cf. C.I.C.L.S.A.L., Directives, n. 29.
20
In the Institute, the responsibility for formation is carried out at
various levels.
The Superior General and the Provincial Superiors have
the main responsibility for Formation.
The Superior General has the duty to determine the formative
guidelines at the general level, as indicated in the Chapter
Resolutions, for the annual spiritual journey of the Institute.
She also has the responsibility to preserve unity in the Institute
around its unique charism, while being attentive to necessary
changes. This should be understood as a common effort to
journey in unity, even though the way of doing things and the
concrete results may vary according to the different cultural
contexts.33
In her visits to communities and Provinces she verifies the
implementation and actualisation of the formative guidelines
indicated by the Chapter Resolutions and the Plan of
Formation.
The Provincial Superior has the task of identifying, choosing
and carefully preparing the Formators who accompany those
in Initial Formation and she sustains them in their evangelical
and charismatic journey.
The same Provincial Superior nominates and entrusts the
coordination of formative activities to a Sister who is the
coordinator of the Provincial Formative Team.
The Provincial Formative Team is made up of Formators
responsible for each stage. The members of the Team,
coordinated by the Sister nominated by the Provincial
Superior, are involved in the formative plan in a special way,
placing their talents and competence at its service. Their
contribution is also required in the process of discernment and
evaluation. To carry out their task effectively, the Sisters of the
33
Cf. XV General Chapter, Resolutions, 22.
21
Formative Team meet regularly to reflect on problems of
Formation and to deepen the understanding of their mandate.
They also plan and evaluate, in the light of the charism,
formative processes suited to the cultural setting.
The Canossian Community, in each stage of life, is the
privileged place for integral formation - “a place of healing and
growth in charity”34 – for those who are called to live according
to the particular charism of the Institute.
It is composed of Sisters who know how to live together, not
because of personal choice or affinity, but because the Lord
keeps them united in their common consecration and mission
in the Church. All the Sisters are called to continue to deepen
the motivations for their choice and personal commitments so
that faith, the charism, the spiritual, communal and apostolic
life are integrated harmoniously. Only this journey of
integration guarantees the building of a community as a place
of faith, fraternity and openness to mission, characterised by
relationships that are both free and freeing.
- The Canossian formative Communities receive from
the Institute the mandate of accompanying young
people or Sisters during a particular stage in their
formative journey. The communities with this special
mandate, are truly formative in the measure in which
one ‘breathes’ in them the charism, a rich atmosphere
of solid and deep spirituality, authentic evangelical
fraternity and a lively passion for the apostolate and
mission.
The Sisters, who make up the formative community,
are open to the new generations who have a very
different mind-set. While respecting the complementary
competences and roles of each member, they are coresponsible for the growth of those in formation and
34
XIV General Chapter, Resolutions, 10.
22
contribute, above all, by their daily effort to be true
witnesses of the Gospel and charism.
Within every formative community it is possible to have
a small team of Sisters in close collaboration with the
Sister responsible for that particular phase.
The presence of Sisters with missionary experience
fosters formation towards a more global, intercultural
and international outlook. Through their witness, they
encourage the flowering of missionary vocations “ad
gentes”.
-
35
The lifestyle of the formative communities harmonizes
simplicity with warm hospitality, prayer and apostolic
activities which respond to local needs. It encourages
everyone to cultivate an interior life but also openness
to that which is different, a family spirit, and a healthy
encounter with the outside world, aiming at coherence
between the charism and daily life.
It is also marked by an atmosphere of joy which comes
from the certainty of the Lord’s fidelity and an
intense fraternal life founded on truth and evangelical
charity.
By our specific charism we are called, in a special way,
to express in our community the gift of communion, as
perfectly as possible. Therefore we acknowledge that
‘true union of hearts’ comes about through “the mutual
love of its members”. This love “is strengthened by the
Word and the Eucharist, purified by the Sacrament of
Penance and sustained by prayer for unity.”35
It is noted for its style of communication and dialogue,
sharing and participation, co-responsibility and
discernment.
John Paul II, Consecrated Life, n. 42.
23
The Formators, in communion with the Provincial Superior,
take on the responsibility of accompanying young people or
Sisters in formation in their integral growth according to the
specific phase of their journey.
These Sisters, adequately prepared, have the delicate task of
being travelling companions of the young people and Sisters
entrusted to them through an interpersonal relationship which
should be deep and meaningful, discreet and gradual. Using
the skills they have acquired they help the young people, to
integrate faith in daily life, to interpret and give meaning to
every ordinary and extraordinary event in life, to discern the
will of God for them and to respond to it with coherence and a
sense of responsibility.
They, too, are Sisters journeying towards a solid human,
Christian and charismatic identity, Sisters with a true sense of
belonging to the Institute, an authentic love for the Canossian
charism and enthusiastic apostolic and missionary zeal.
Formators are responsible for formative and personalised
itineraries and for implementing creative programmes that
have been planned with the Formative Team and approved by
the Provincial Superior, thus guaranteeing continuity and
effective involvement at different formative levels. It is also part
of their mandate to provide the Sisters with all the human,
cultural and spiritual help they need.
Above all, they are committed to imitate the “Greatest Love”
that every Sister is called to incarnate in her daily life.
The collaboration of lay people is recommended in planning
formative programmes.
CONTENT
Canossian Formation, Initial and On-going, revolves around
several basic nuclei which constitute the essence of our
charismatic identity. This must be kept in mind in every
formative process, throughout life, while respecting the specific
24
nature of the various stages. They define the characteristic
features of that face which the Father has created and
continues to create in each Daughter of Charity, the mystery of
her identity “hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3)36
They are:

Mystical experience

Ascetical journey

Mission

Sense of identity and belonging
Mystical experience
Magdalene’s encounter with the divine in a mystical
experience brought her to see her specific identity and
mission.
This kind of experience is also the starting point and a
constant reference for every formative journey of life. Every
Daughter of Charity, in fact, is called to re-live the mystical
experience that is at the origin of our Institute. Thanks to the
gift of the Spirit, she makes it her own and allows it to reveal
her own unique identity.
The vitality of our Religious Family depends on the presence
of Sisters who, even today, continue to live this experience
throughout their lives.
At the beginning of St. Magdalene’s spiritual journey there
were certain “charismatic intuitions” which showed how God
revealed Himself to the young Marchioness and how He spoke
her name. Thus, St Magdalene began gradually to discover
“her inner self through this relationship with God, allowing her
36
Cf. A. Cencini. I Sentimenti del Figlio. Il Cammino Formativo nella Vita
Consacrata, Bologna 2001, 138.
25
contemplation of the mystery to become the source of her
identity.” 37 For each Daughter of Charity there is a mystical
experience which reveals the face of ‘God alone’ in the
contemplation of the Son. This is because, attracted and
transformed by Love Crucified, we take for ourselves and
translate into our lives the “Inspice et fac secundum
Exemplar” (Ex. 25, 40) which attracted St. Magdalene to the
following of Christ.
God forms every Sister in this mystical experience through the
“mental prayer of the heart” 38 , a prayer that involves
intelligence, affection and the desires of each one of us and
pervades the whole of our lives. St. Magdalene reminds us
that it is essential that we educate ourselves to silence, if we
are to grow in this aspect of the spiritual life. The silence she
speaks of is not merely the silence of words but also of every
bond, affection or plan which distances us from God. In fact
she writes “[…] firstly, in order to keep the holy love of God in
our hearts it is necessary to have the spirit of prayer which
cannot last without recollection and both of them must be
supported by silence […] because the true spirit of a Daughter
of Charity should be that of an anchorite at home and an
apostle outside.”39
It is through contemplation of the Eucharist that St.
Magdalene is frequently led to the mystery of the Cross. She
recognises in the gifts of bread and wine, the sacramental
offering of Jesus’ own life and confesses that she has been
the object of that “great Love with which the Lord led her so
frequently to Holy Communion.” 40 In fact, the Eucharist
constitutes the ‘privileged place of her mystical experiences
37
Ibid, 141.
Magdalene of Canossa, The Rules of the Institute of the Daughters of
Charity. Unabridged Text. Milanese Manuscript, Milan 1978, 25.
39
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 107-108.
40
T. Piccari, Dio solo e Gesù Crocefisso. Maddalena di Canossa, Milano
1965, 358.
26
38
and the unifying element of her whole life, which can be
summed up by the two-fold expression ‘Eucharist-Cross’.
For each one of us, too, the Eucharist becomes the ‘source
and summit’ of our spirituality, the centre of the liturgical life of
every community, the heart of sacrificial love with which every
Daughter of Charity lives the gift of self to God and to others.
Ascetical journey
In the practice of asceticism our charism is manifested in
concrete ways in our life. This is the inevitable consequence of
a mystical experience.
The intense contemplation of the mystery of God brought
about in Magdalene the “need to conform herself to it, allowing
herself to be truly moulded in her actions and words, thoughts
and desires.” 41 The great mystical ideal of Jesus Crucified
attracts each one of us and determines our vocation.
The virtues, “of which this great Exemplar wants to give us a
unique example on the cross” 42 , are interpreted by St.
Magdalene as expressions of Charity. By conforming herself to
the spirit of Christ Crucified in his feelings, motivations and
attitudes, each one of us is called to express in daily life three
particular virtues. These are: obedience, allowing oneself to be
totally involved – heart, mind and will – in the offering of self
that Jesus made on the Cross; humility, to recognise the fact
that we are creatures and to become capable of sharing and
solidarity; poverty, transforming the logic of possession into
the logic of giving, and learning to live together as Sisters.
St. Magdalene indicated to her Daughters the path of
consecration as the privileged means “to eliminate all the
41
42
Cencini, I Sentimenti , 142.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 25.
27
obstacles that may impede the Sisters, called to this holy
vocation, to be in perfect union with God.”43
From the charismatic point of view and guided by the Spirit,
the vows guard the process of assimilation into Christ
(obedient, humble, poor). “If lived for the sake of Christ the
vows are a process of Paschal transformation, privileged
occasions for growth in freedom and joy through conversion in
the three basic needs of the human person: desire for power,
need to possess and affectivity.” 44 The vows are a way of
living our humanity like Jesus lived it, as Son and servant. By
living them we become available to the Church and to the
world, and able to promote the values of the Kingdom, in order
to make space for those who are far off, thus becoming a
prophetic and radical sign.
The journey in obedience places our life in the hands of God
so that He “may use it according to His design and make it a
masterpiece.”45
St. Magdalene indicates to each one of us the imitation of
Jesus Christ, who made Himself “obedient unto death, and
death on the cross” (Phil 2:8), so as to train ourselves in the
exercise of our freedom in conformity with our faith in the
Gospel, chosen as a norm of life, and in an attitude of
responsibility in carrying out God’s plan, with “the offering of
our own will” 46 helped by the Rule of Life and various
mediations.
The vow of poverty frees us from slavery to things and false
needs and allows us to continually rediscover Christ, “who on
the Cross was stripped of everything except his love.” 47 In
order to live as poor people we should, as St. Magdalene
43
Ibid, 52.
XV General Chapter Resolutions, 10-11.
45
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Starting Afresh from Christ, 2002, n. 22.
46
Maddalena, Regole e Scritti, I, 57.
47
Ibid, 34.
28
44
exhorts, “fix our gaze on Him for a few moments to see that on
the Cross He lacked not only the superfluous but even
absolute necessities.”48
Thus we are called to share what we have, to become
detached from the search for riches so as to identify ourselves
with Christ Crucified who became a Servant, choosing “a
condition of significant marginality.”49
Chastity opens our heart to the measure of Christ’s Heart and
makes us able to love as He loved:50 it implies a journey of ongoing maturity in love that makes our hearts free, capable of
gradual detachment from our own family and from all the
behaviours which are not consistent with our choice of
chastity.
Like Christ Crucified, the Daughters of Charity are called to “a
total interior and exterior detachment from everything that is
not God.”51
Mission
St. Magdalene’s journey of solitude and exclusive intimacy
with God alone, culminating in the contemplation of Christ
Crucified, gives rise to a strong missionary and apostolic
passion that she herself describes: “[…] I wished I could be
reduced to dust if, in that way, I would be scattered to all parts
of the world so that God would be known and loved.”52
Her entire spiritual journey brings her “to tread the path of
love”53 and to have a big heart “imitating that generous heart
48
Ibid, 54.
XV Capitolo, Delibere, 10.
50
Cf. CICSAL, Starting Afresh from Christ, n. 22
51
Maddalena, Regole e Scritti, 1, 53.
52
Magdalene, Memoirs, 103.
53
Ibid, 196.
49
29
that, on Calvary, offered the life of her Son for the whole
world.”54
Thus, John Paul II pointed out to all of us the measure of the
gift in apostolic ministry: “When we study the life of Magdalene
of Canossa we see how charity consumed her like a fever: the
Love of God reached the highest of mystical experience, the
Love for her neighbour was practised to an exceptional
degree.”55 This is the same ideal that moves us too, today, to
undertake the path of becoming ever more a ‘Daughter of
Charity – Servant of the Poor’.
The five “branches” or ministries of Charity are
expressions of our charism. They are: education, seen as
preventing evil, liberation from poverty and human promotion;
evangelization, aimed at making people aware of their dignity
and directing them towards it, pastoral care of the sick, seen
as the demonstration and proclamation that human weakness
is not a sign of abandonment by God, the formation of laity
for the apostolate and retreat ministry, which ‘complete’ the
ministries of charity and offer to different types of people
occasions for a special encounter with God. The ministerial
nature of Charity, as it was understood by Magdalene,
includes the aspect of missionary openness to the whole world
and to every place where the Lord is not loved and where the
human person is not the object of love.56
Sense of identity and belonging
The charism must be proposed in its authenticity and function,
first to the young person and also later when she is a
consecrated woman. This is because the charism is our own
identity, the name which reveals who we are and who we are
54
Maddalena. Epistolario II/2, 1155.
John Paul II, Homely, Solemn Canonization of Magdalene of Canossa,
2.10.1988.
56
cf. The Canossian Charism: a formative approach, 31-32.
30
55
called to be in God’s eyes. The understanding of the charism
is an absolutely essential if we are to be our true selves and to
be happy, through finding our own identity, an identity that
goes beyond the limits of our personal qualities and abilities.57
The sense of identity is the awareness of having acquired a
new name which transforms us in the depths of our being. The
sense of belonging is born and grows from feeling that we are
part of a family, a family with whom the charism, the
spirituality, the community and mission are shared.
There is, therefore, an individual responsibility on the part of
each Sister, as she journeys from a sense of identity to a
sense of belonging (from “I” to “we”). She lives this
responsibility through a constant and faithful commitment to
live the mystical experience, the journey of asceticism and the
apostolic mission.
In the same way the Institute and community are called to help
each Sister make the transition from the sense of identity to
the sense of belonging.
The Canossian community, as a place for self-realization,
promotes the communion of ideals and their implementation;
at the same time, it makes us grow in the sense of belonging
which confirms us in values, develops our personal talents and
gives us the joy of feeling fulfilled.
The sense of belonging is nourished by continually
experiencing together as a community, the basic elements of
our charism, which, at the same time, strengthens the sense of
identity in each Daughter of Charity. In the community, daily
and constantly, we are given life and given it anew by mutual
forgiveness and reconciliation, believing that we are always
touched by God’s mercy in the love of the Crucified Lord.
Living like this as Sisters in a community is the first way that
57
cf. Cencini. I Sentimenti, 140. 145-147.
31
we fulfil the twofold Commandment of Love, which we
contemplate in the Crucified Lord.58
GUIDING CRITERIA FOR CANOSSIAN FORMATION
Formation is the encounter between the formative action of the
Father and the gradual willingness of each one of us to allow
ourselves to be moulded by God’s love.
In fact, “every Sister is constantly called to assume her
personal responsibility for her journey towards integration,
aware that the real fulfilment of life consists in losing it in the
spirit of the Gospel and the charism. Each one of us is,
therefore, invited to nurture her vocation and her personal
growth.”59
This dynamic and gradual process happens throughout life,
until the moment of death, and it is God’s action in each one of
us which guarantees continuity and unity in our formation.
It requires serious and constant planning, according to the
stages and time frames that embrace the whole of life, starting
with the awareness of the need for on-going formation right
from the beginning: the initial experiences of religious life to
the full embrace of Canossian ideals.
All the aspects and dimensions of our life are involved in the
formative experience, though with different modalities and
aims according to the various stages of life.
Because of this, it is necessary to consider some guidelines
that are valid for each stage and to be kept in mind in every
formative process.
The most important point to take into consideration is that
Formation is a gradual process. This is necessary so that the
proposed experience will be appropriate to the individual and
58
59
cf. The Canossian Charism: a formative approach, 30.
XIV General Chapter Resolutions, 9.
32
to the stage she is going through. In this way each person can
be given challenges for her life and choices, without the
danger of becoming discouraged by goals which are beyond
her possibilities.
Formation must follow the principle of wholeness. The
proposals and the journey of growth need take into
consideration all the aspects of the person. We are in fact
called to grow and bring together all our energies and faculties
– heart, mind, will – around the unique nucleus Jesus
Crucified, who strengthens, sustains and challenges us and is
the life-giving centre for each one of us.
Each one of us is involved in a continuous and holistic
itinerary of formation which means that all the aspects of the
human person must be directed to and motivated by the
values of our Canossian vocation in a way that is harmonious
and dynamic.
For this reason it is essential that, in every stage of the
formative itinerary, we take the process of growth into
consideration, growth in all its aspects: human, affective,
spiritual,
charismatic,
communitarian
and
apostolic,
considering them mutually related and influencing one
another.
Human formation indicates to what depth of our interior life
as human beings the process of conforming our life to Christ
Crucified must reach. In fact, human formation involves the
use of all the valuable potential energy in each one of us, in all
its complexity. It allows us to journey towards human maturity,
aiming at uniting all our affective energies around the
experience of God’s love.
Spiritual formation inserts us in the dynamism of faith. This
presupposes that we are able to transcend ourselves and be
open to the divine, to feel ourselves loved by Him and love
Him in return. Thus the process of growth becomes for us a
33
process of real and radical transformation which is not content
with merely shaping our behaviour, but wanting to reach our
heart so as to assume the same sentiments of Christ and the
same desires of God.
Charismatic formation highlights the gift given to St.
Magdalene and handed on to us, an absolutely original gift,
showing how our humanity and our faith find their fullness and
utmost expression in the encounter with the charism.
Community formation reminds us that the charism must be
lived together and shared within the community. Formation is
lived out in the daily life of community and helps us face the
difficulties of apostolic service to the extent that the love of the
Lord is the source and the rule of our life for each one of us.60
It is, therefore, indispensable that the community be a
formative one and helps us to place the most generous love of
Christ, Servant, at the centre of our life.
Apostolic formation occurs, first of all, within the community.
“It is in the Community that we safeguard and reinforce our
identity; it is here that we engage in processes of discernment
for the mission.”61
It is in this place that the discernment of a vocation “ad gentes”
may take place, a further call to spread the gift of Charity to
the ends of the earth.
We are also called to strengthen our inter-ministeriality,
through the Community’s Apostolic Project, and to improve our
listening skills and the critical interpretation of reality so that
we may make evermore charismatic choices which are
inculturated and for the poor. This requires a specific
professional preparation.
60
61
cf. The Canossian Charism: a formative approach, 30.
XIV General Chapter Resolutions, 13.
34
It is important that each one of us considers formation as a
guided itinerary, not only by the grace of the Spirit, but also
by the harmonious and responsible dialogue with human
mediations, in particular with the Sisters responsible for
formation and/or community leaders.
Every stage may present a challenge: this is the reality for
each one of us who, conceived as a mystery, does not fully
possess herself.
Formation is challenging; it is indeed possible and takes place
through trials. It is a precious instrument for our growth. Trials,
in fact, can help us to grow in our own identity, in belonging to
our own Institute, in conformity to Christ Crucified who also
shared with humanity the experience of temptation and the
Cross. Formation must train each Sister to face trials and
teach her how to draw lessons from them.
35
PART TWO
STAGES OF CANOSSIAN
FORMATIVE JOURNEY:
from the beginning to the final gift of self
At the beginning of this document there was a passing
reference to how the commitment to renewal that the Institute
is engaged in necessarily requires a global re-thinking of
formation. This is not only in order to face the challenges of
the complex historical period in which we live but because we
are convinced that “the renewal of a Religious Institute
depends mainly on the formation of its members.” 62 Rethinking Formation is therefore a priority for the life and
continuity of our Religious Family.
First of all, it means going beyond the outdated idea that
formation deals only with initial formation. In the past,
formation seemed to mean the overall task of preparing a
Sister to make a definitive choice and to help her to reach that
maturity and to acquire the necessary requisites to respond to
the life-long demands of consecration, community and
apostolic life. It was as if the period of growth coincided only
with this first stage, while the rest of life was just a time of
maintaining and conserving what had been initially learned.
The process of growth cannot be limited to the initial period
because consecrated life, precisely because it is ‘life’, is a
journey, an evolution and continual progress. Growth
embraces the whole span of life since it is only with time and
along the developmental stages that the Daughter of Charity is
62
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes, 1990, n. 1.
36
able to reach the ideal to which she tends, that is, conformity
to Christ Crucified.
Formation is, in itself, permanent and “only by starting from
this broad understanding of the word will it be possible to subdivide the phases of formation itself into periods that
correspond to the phases of life, each with its specific
characteristics and its more or less marked expressions.” 63
Paradoxically, we can say that on-going formation is not that
which comes “after” initial formation, but it is that which
precedes it and makes it possible as a guiding principle; it is
that which generates it, guards it and gives it identity.”64
Putting into practice a project of on-going formation,
responsibly accepted by each Daughter of Charity, permits our
communities to become and be known as life-giving places
animated by the most generous love for God and for
neighbour, and from which radiates the beauty and attraction
of a life totally consecrated to God. The realisation of this
project will allow new generations to find a concrete context in
which knowledge of the charism is confirmed by life
experience. The charismatic identity, to which they tend, is
witnessed by the example and presence of persons of different
ages who are journeying towards the full identification with
their ‘new name’. In this way all the Daughters of Charity
become responsible for preserving the charism received, so as
to hand it on ‘integral and perfect’ to the younger Sisters,
having enriched it by their very own lives.
The future of our Religious Institute lies here, in the renewed
vitality of our community living, sustained by authentic ongoing formation, presented to each Sister as commitment of
63
A. Cencini, Formazione Permanente. Ci crediamo davvero?, Bologna
2011, 31.
64
cf. A. Cencini, Il respiro della vita. La grazia della formazione
permanente, Cinisello Balsamo, 2002, 25.
37
life in daily fidelity to the gift of the “vocation to this Holy
Institute of Charity.”65
Keeping in mind the principle that on-going formation is a
necessary condition for the growth and development of
formation in each phase of life, we now deal with each
particular phase of formation beginning with Pastoral Care of
Vocations and Initial Formation.
65
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 23.
38
PASTORAL CARE OF VOCATIONS
“If you only knew what God is offering …!” (Jn 4:10)
Meaning and aim
The concern of many Christian communities for the pastoral
care of vocations is fully sustained by the whole Church which,
to carry out its mandate of evangelisation, addresses itself in a
special way to young people. Because of their existential,
psychological and spiritual situation, it is natural that they
should be the ones to whom the message of Christian hope is
primarily addressed.
In fact, young people have the “right to be evangelised
because they are in greater need of the Gospel so as to
respond to the questions of meaning which are present during
growth, to have an ideal sense of the future which is neither
deceptive nor narrow, to have life in abundance through
knowledge of the Father’s love revealed to them in the
humanity of Jesus and confirmed in the inner life of the
Spirit.”66
Furthermore, the challenge of education in a complex and
post-modern society makes it even more a duty for adults to
take on this responsibility. In the present cultural context,
dissatisfaction and aimless existence, the fragility of the
human person, the precariousness of relationships prevails.
Many young people, especially in the continents with a long
Christian tradition, manifest great difficulty in facing life without
values and ideals where everything becomes unstable and
seems provisional. This brings about interior suffering,
solitude, narcissistic isolation, fear of the future, and can lead
to an unbridled use of “freedom”. At the same time, a great
66
Institute of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, Plan of Youth Ministry,
1998, Preface
39
thirst for meaning, truth and love can be found in young
people.
For us, Canossian Sisters, pastoral care of vocations is an
indispensable apostolic field, since it is inherent in the very
nature of our charism which calls us to prevent evil before it
happens since “the behaviour of a person in life usually
depends on the education received.”67
The Canossian charism encourages us to take care of young
people so as to promote their growth.
The Love of Christ Crucified is the starting point from which we
invite them to become disciples by following Him so that they
may gradually discover that every fragment of their lives is
redemptive and find in them the “space” to be and to create
their own history.68
Canossian pastoral care of vocations embraces and spans all
the branches of charity and calls us, as faith educators, to be
attentive to adolescents and young people by concerning
ourselves with their growth.
As consecrated people, we are also called to become vocation
animators: “the person who is called, in fact, cannot but
become a caller.”69
The main aim of Canossian Pastoral Care of Vocations is to
lead teenagers and young adults in a journey of human growth
and in an experience of faith and encounter with the Lord
Jesus, helping them to re-read their lives through the lens of
vocational and missionary experiences.
Therefore we are called to encourage young people to discern
their life project, and if we are able to show that we are totally
fulfilled in our choice of life, it will naturally bring them to
consider their own vocation in life.
67
Magdalene, Unabridged Rule, 120.
cf. Canossian Institute, Basic Guidelines of Canossian Youth Ministry,
Bologna 2000, 11-12.
69
CICLSAL, Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes, 1990, n. 17,
40
68
Consequently “all Canossian communities are vocational
communities when one’s vocation is lived with a profound
awareness and enthusiasm by all the members and when the
community gathers together to respond to the call of
ministerial discipleship.”70
After having identified the signs of a particular vocation in
young people, we encourage them to embark on an
experience of accompaniment and discernment.
Our youth ministry has to be done in such a way that it
naturally becomes pastoral care of vocations, giving to young
people the possibility of deepening their understanding of
vocation, vocation seen as a guide to the mystery of their own
life and identity as well as their faith and true calling in life.
Those responsible
The Canossian community is composed of Sisters who,
moved by the Spirit and united by the same charism, live
together to announce and witness God’s love. This love is
always open to every person, just as it was expressed in
Jesus Christ, at the supreme moment of the gift of his life for
us on the cross.
The community gives efficacious witness to the charism to the
extent that it re-lives its three essential elements: mystical
experience, ascetical journey and apostolic mission.
The concrete ways through which the Canossian community
expresses its service within the local Church are education,
evangelisation, pastoral care of the sick, formation of laity and
retreat ministry. This service is offered that Charity may be
extended as much as possible.
Every community is called and encouraged to “adopt a simple,
joyful and fraternal style of life, which is reflected also in our
70
Canossian Daughters of Charity, Basic Guidelines of the Canossian
Vocation Animation, Bologna 2002, 43.
41
premises that are open and welcoming”71 in order to become
more credible witnesses to evangelical fraternity.
It is in the community that “we safeguard and reinforce our
identity” 72 as Daughters of Charity – Servants of the Poor,
learning how to humbly serve and help each other, not
becoming discouraged by our fragility and that of others but
accepting this as an opportunity for conversion, reconciliation
and salvation.
Every Canossian community is continually invited to “explore
new ways of responding to emerging needs” 73 , with special
attention to young people so that they may grow in the
“fantasy of charity”74 and involve themselves in initiatives that
give preference to the poorest.
Every Sister, as a Canossian, is called personally to express
the joy of her vocational choice and the sense of belonging to
a Religious community, considering prayer for young people
and vocations as one of her primary commitments.
The consistent and radical witness of her consecration makes
the Canossian ideal attractive and credible to those we meet in
our fraternal life and apostolic activities through whatever
service.
The Sisters involved in the pastoral care of vocations are
called to spend their time with young people trying to find
creative ways of being in contact with them. ‘Being there’ as
adults means for each one of us having a deep understanding
of life, living it with joy and being able to recount one’s own
experience of faith, giving reasons for the hope we carry in our
hearts.
‘Being there’ in the midst of young people means, for us as
Canossians, to be open to dialogue, capable of trustful
71
XIV General Chapter, Resolutions, 11.
Ibid, 13.
73
Ibid, 14.
74
John Paul II, At the Beginning of the New Millennium, 2001, n. 50.
72
42
listening and sincerely accepting young people as they are,
being attentive to the uniqueness of each person and allowing
ourselves to be challenged by their richness of character.75
For St. Magdalene, it is indispensable for the Sisters to be in
the midst of young people with a formative attitude which
seeks to prevent, with precaution and concern, evil from taking
root. St. Magdalene was concerned not only that the Sisters
“should not forget to watch over the girls”76, but above all that
they should never leave the girls unattended.77
The lay people with whom we collaborate in our ministries are
also agents of pastoral care of vocations: with them we form
ourselves in the same zeal for education, we share the same
methodology and approach to pastoral care of vocations and
we involve them in working groups for the planning and
implementation of various proposals.
Young people
All the young people, near or far and of different religions, that
we meet in our ministries of Charity are recipients of our
pastoral care of vocations. Even if they are not aware of it,
they are searching for a plan for their future. More precisely,
they are trying to discover God’s plan for their lives and we are
called to accompany them in this search which is a really and
truly a search for their own vocation in life: Thus we can say
that the subject of vocational animation is any person who
“shows a clear sensitivity to the search for their personal
75
cf. Basic Guidelines for Canossian Youth Ministry, Institute, 43-44.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 195
77
cf. ibid, 192.
76
43
vocation and who has before them a genuine possibility of
making a plan for her own life.”78
We are encouraged to reach out and “favour in a special way
those marked by difficulties of various kinds: personal, family
and social, even though dealing with them is a challenge,
because it calls for greater authenticity, availability and real
unconditional giving”.79
Formative environment
We carry out our vocational promotion programmes in
communion with the local Church, within our ministries of
Charity and through experiences of voluntary service in our
respective Provinces, or abroad. These can be done through
various activities, such as meetings, congresses, recreational
groups, community live-ins, prayer experiences, retreats,
pilgrimages, World Youth Day etc.
Encounters with young people in formation are also valid
opportunities.
Evaluation
For young women who have started on a journey of human
growth and faith experience, and who feel attracted by the
Canossian charism, we may offer, for a period of time, an
experience of prayer, community and service in one of our
communities of the Province, so that they may further
understand God’s plan for them. If we sense the signs of a
missionary vocation, these experiences may even be made
abroad.
78
Basic Guidelines for Canossian Vocational Pastoral Ministry and
Animation, 31.
79
Basic Guidelines for Canossian Youth Ministry, 20.
44
The Canossian Sister who accompanies the young person will
try to help her to clarify her vocational motivations, especially
regarding the awareness of her choice as the capacity for selfgiving and of responsibility for self and others.
45
INITIAL FORMATION
VOCATIONAL DISCERNIMENT AND
ACCOMPANIMENT
“Come and see!” (Jn 1:39)
Significance and objective
The discernment of a vocation is a process that helps young
people to understand how the Lord Jesus calls and invites
them to follow him. It begins with the story of their past and
continues right through to the present because it is in this story
that God gives birth and growth to His vocational plan for
them.
Vocational accompaniment, on the other hand, is a temporary
help that a Sister who is more experienced in faith and
discipleship offers to young women, sharing with them part of
the way so that they may know themselves better and the gift
of God in their lives, in order to respond to it with freedom and
responsibility.
Our Foundress also recognised from the beginning that “a
vocation is given gratuitously from the Lord’s generosity”80 and
so gave great importance to the process of vocational
discernment before entering the Institute. In fact, she said
repeatedly: “It is necessary for the Superior to proceed with
great caution and much prayer before receiving a candidate”81,
and “… the Sisters, who know of this possibility, should pray
very much to the Lord …”82
80
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 89.
Ibid, 49.
82
Ibid, 69-70.
81
46
Our presence becomes formative when, by accompanying
them, we help young people to rediscover the presence of
God’s mystery in their personal story, which is the normal
place where they can recognise the God who calls.
Every Canossian Sister is encouraged to offer young people
itineraries of vocational accompaniment and discernment. This
opportunity is offered to everyone, even when it may seem
inopportune or unlikely that the person will continue the
discernment.
Every Daughter of Charity is called to guide young people in
discovering God’s gift in their personal lives, through the
knowledge of self and their emotional, intellectual and affective
life.
Further, the person who accompanies young people has the
duty to verify in them the presence of the basic dispositions of
life for a Daughter of Charity, Servant of the Poor, the
possibility of growth at a human and spiritual level and an
eventual vocation “ad gentes”. She helps them to take the first
steps in learning to make choices for their life.83
If the signs of a call to Canossian consecrated life are not
evident, the Sister continues to help the young person search
for God’s plan for her, remembering St. Magdalene’s
expression that “when a vocation is not clear and sure, we will
only betray the young person and […] damage the Institute.”84
Therefore, this phase is a time of gradual transition towards
the beginning of Religious Life and its duration depends on the
growth of the young person.
83
84
Cf. Cencini, Vita consacrata, 60.
Magdalene, A Collection of Letters III/1, 316-317.
47
Content
The Canossian Sister, who accompanies the young woman,
guides her to a Christian interpretation of her history so that
everything that has happened to her or everything she does
may be seen as a place of encounter with God and
discernment of His Will.
The deepening of her journey of faith, through a meaningful
sacramental and prayer life, becomes itself the criterion for
discernment.
It is also important that the Sister should ask the young person
to make certain choices that detach her from her previous way
of living and should propose initial experiences that draw her
towards the Canossian charism, within one of our
communities, chosen according to the need of each young
woman. In it, the young woman experiences Canossian
spirituality and the lifestyle of the Daughters of Charity, so as
to test her readiness to choose this option.
Modality
Systematic accompaniment by a Canossian Sister who assists
the young person in her search is, without doubt, a privileged
means of formation in this particular phase of discernment.
She helps her to discern the mystery of her identity through
her personal story and to see that the incarnation of the
mystery within her has not always been smooth, but, has met
obstacles and difficulties.85
There are other modalities of formation, which are not
alternatives to the systematic accompaniment but
complementary. These may include contact with a local
Canossian community, experiences of a few days in a
Canossian apostolic community where the young person may
85
Cf. A. Cencini, Il mistero da ritrovare. Itinerario formativo alla decisione
vocazionale, Milano1997; La storia personale casa del mistero. Indicazioni
per il discernimento vocazionale, Milano 1997.
48
share our life of prayer, community and dedication to others,
as well as periods of study, sharing and exchanging
experiences with other young people who are searching.
Evaluation
During this phase and at its end, the Sister who accompanies
the young woman will give great attention and importance to
evaluating her motivation and vocational rectitude86, verifying
the reality of her willingness to open herself to the newness of
consecrated life87, to grow in the spiritual life and to begin with
joy88 her journey of formation.
The Sister should try to identify, during this first phase, signs of
apostolic and missionary zeal typical of a Canossian, in the
initial attention she gives to those in need.
The Sister must also ascertain that the young person is in
good health and psychologically balanced 89 , that she has
received a Secondary education and that she is not over 35
years of age. Exceptions may be considered in dialogue with
the Provincial Superior.
If the result of the evaluation is positive, the candidate will
present a formal written application to the Provincial Superior
asking to begin the pre-novitiate.
86
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 69.
Cf. Magdalene, A Collection of Letters, III/1, 3
88
Cf. Magdalene, Epistolario, III/2, 1347.
89
Cf. Magdalene, Epistolario, II/2, 952, note 16
87
49
PRE-NOVITIATE
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (I Sam.3, 9)
Significance and objective
The pre-novitiate is a time for personal growth and
discernment for the young woman who wishes to evaluate the
compatibility of her gift with the Canossian charism and to
know it as a way of living religious life.
It is characterised by the special attention given to her growth
as a woman and as a Christian.
The young women of today, “the future hope for the good of
the Institute”90, need to be motivated to attain the high ideals of
the radical following of Christ and the serious demands of
living a call to holiness. This is because a vocation to Religious
Life is much greater than, and perhaps even goes beyond,
what they initially had in mind when they felt inspired to enter
the Institute.
Therefore, the general objective of pre-novitiate is to develop
in the young person the capacity to make a free and faithbased choice to enter into the life of consecration as a
Canossian.
Besides this general objective, the Sister in charge also
considers the following with regard to the candidate:
 the maturity of her faith within a personal relationship with
Christ Crucified, which should enable her to discern and
thus clarify her choice of an apostolic consecrated life as a
Canossian and possibly a vocation “ad gentes”
 the awareness that a vocation is not the search for a
personal programme of formation but following exclusively
90
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 125.
50
Christ Crucified so as to love Him alone and live in Him as a
daughter of the Father
 the capacity to listen attentively to the Word of God so as to
nourish her interior life and evaluate the real motives that
animate her life.
 the integration of a “mentality of change” regarding her
previous way of life, in harmony with the dynamic of
following Christ in the Canossian Family
 gradual formation in the art of communication, dialogue,
sharing and evaluation in view of community and apostolic
life
Pre-novitiate is also a “trial period”91 during which the young
person, while strengthening her personal relationship with the
Lord, is gradually introduced into fraternal life in community, to
the richness of prayer lived in an apostolic dimension,
collaboration in our ministries and in the various services
within the community.
Persons in formation
The formative itinerary of the pre-novitiate is offered to the
young woman of today who, fascinated by the person of Jesus
Christ Crucified, wishes to follow Him and live for the Kingdom
in our Religious community.
Attracted by our lifestyle and sensitive to the needs of our
neighbours, she involves herself actively in the life of the
church, choosing to experience it in an apostolic community
and in our ministries of Charity.
Together with the Formator the pre-novice discerns her
vocation to the Canossian charism, seen more as a gift
received than an offering of self, and the possibility that this
unique, personal and gratuitous gift will bring her self-
91
Ibid, 137.
51
fulfilment. In this context the beginnings of discerning a
vocation “ad gentes” may take place.
A process of discernment is also necessary when there is a
struggle between the attraction to the ideal and the difficulty of
responding freely and when the person is faced with the need
for detachment and change.
Content
The content of formation at pre-novitiate level comprises five
main areas:

the human dimension
- a gradual knowledge of self, of gifts and weaknesses, of
one’s sexuality and femininity; the acceptance and
integration of one’s personal history which leads to
integration of one’s affectivity, one’s life and one’s past,
marking the beginning of a new relationship with God,
oneself, others and creation
- the ability to take autonomous and meaningful decisions for
one’s life
- wonder and enthusiasm, typical of youth, which express
passion for the ideals of good, beauty and truth
- courage and constancy in living consistently the
consequences of one’s own choices, bearing the pain of
renunciation and showing a willingness to grow and know
how to make the first meaningful detachments and
separation from a previous lifestyle
- a journey of human maturity which concerns not only the
intellectual aspect, but also and above all affectivity,
emotions and the will
- gradual affective maturity expressed as the capacity to live
solitude and serene social relationships with both sexes
52
- the capacity to recognise and call by name one’s own
weaknesses and fragility and make an effort to overcome
them.
- a journey of joyful self-giving and a humble and serene
attitude of accepting the cultural diversities which are
present in the group

the social dimension
- gratitude and love towards her family of origin and to all
those who have helped her to grow
- an attitude of gratitude for the community which shares in
her journey
- welcoming, without distinction, every person that God
places along her way and gradually accepting the limits of
others
- the capacity to relate and collaborate with everyone on an
equal basis: lay people and Sisters.
- sensitivity towards those in need and the aptitude to care
for them

the spiritual dimension
- the disposition to discover self as a gift in the human and
vocational sphere; a discovery which gives rise to a sense
of gratitude and inspires the young person to become a gift
for others
- the gradual acknowledgement of the Fatherhood of the God
of Jesus Christ who, through the action of the Holy Spirit, is
at work every day in history
- an ever more personal and authentic relationship with the
Lord Jesus through a gradual prayer, sacramental and
liturgical life, lived personally and in community
- systematic catechesis for a knowledge of the basic tenets
of faith
53
- a deeper familiarity with the Word of God92
- the guidance of Mary, Mother of God, and model of fidelity
to God’s plan
- discovering the meaning and value of the interior life,
through silence and listening, “according to the various
needs and situations”93
- a spirituality, focused on redemption, lived for others and
their salvation

the charismatic dimension
- knowledge of our Foundress, a woman who was creative in
Charity and is a model of holiness even for today, St.
Josephine Bakhita, Universal Sister and reconciled woman
and other meaningful figures of the Canossian Family
- the evaluation on the following:
 the ideals of the young woman and the values which
are proposed by the Canossian charism
 her faith journey and Canossian spirituality: the love
for Jesus Crucified and for His Mother, Our Lady of
Sorrows
 how she sees herself within the Canossian
ministries and apostolic project

the apostolic dimension
- experience of service in our ministries of Charity,
discovering in them a humble, joyful style and being
introduced to the formative process of discernment: see,
judge, act.
- mission, even beyond the boundaries her own country,
understood not only as serving others but also as the
yearning of one who feels saved and wants to share this
92
93
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 134-135.
Ibid, 27.
54
gift with others, sharing also one’s own spirituality of
“making Jesus known and loved”.
Formative environments
The pre-novice’s growth in awareness of her vocational
response and inner freedom is fostered especially in the
following environments:
a. The Formative Community: open to the culture of young
people, it welcomes and offers them the opportunity to
experience the precious gift of communion, with its lights
and shadows, in a respectful, serene and joyful
atmosphere, which allows them to be themselves. The
community shares with them prayer together and
encourages times of personal prayer.
In community the pre-novice measures herself against the
reality of the unique Canossian mission through the
knowledge of various apostolic activities, as far as possible,
in an inter-ministerial modality and if necessary a
missionary modality.
A Sister of the community, adequately prepared, is
responsible for accompanying and personally following the
pre-novice in her journey of human, spiritual, vocational and
charismatic growth: “trying to […] skilfully gain the
confidence of the candidate […] she seeks to discover her
disposition, temperament and inclinations.” 94 This Sister
becomes the guarantor of the proposed formative itinerary.
She guides the young woman in understanding a life of
fraternity and helps her to interpret daily life and every
event in a spirit of faith. This is done through regular
personal dialogue and systematic and specific formative
encounters.
94
Ibid, 132.
55
b. Attending Biblical and Theological courses allows the
pre-novice to deepen her motivations and broaden the
horizons of her knowledge and apostolic competence.
Modality
-
a personal formative itinerary guided by the Sister in charge
spiritual direction
a process of gradual knowledge of self and of others
psychotherapeutic help if and when it seems necessary
a gradual re-reading of life in the light of the Word of God
and charismatic literature
- an experience suited to the real possibilities of the young
person giving her the opportunity of being involved and
challenged in what she lives and what is proposed to her
through concrete action. She is encouraged to make a free
choice within her possibilities, within the daily life of the
community, in a life of prayer and apostolic service95
- a meaningful period spent in the house of the novitiate
before her entrance.
Evaluation
In our Institute pre-novitiate usually lasts for at least one year96
and may be prolonged to two years but no longer.
At its conclusion, the young person will express her free and
conscious desire to follow Christ in our Religious Family.
After having listened to the opinion of the community, the
Sister in charge presents a written report to the Provincial
Superior in which she expresses her opinion and that of the
community regarding the suitability of the candidate to
continue her formative journey.
In this report the Formator states whether the candidate is able
to gradually live the commitment of consecration and whether
95
96
Cf. Cencini, Vita consacrata, 117-121.
Cf. CICLSAL, Directives On Formation in Religious Institutes, n.43.
56
she has received an adequate preparation for the following
stage. She offers Provincial Superior sufficient information so
that she may decide whether candidate should be admitted to
the novitiate and if so, when.
Besides the information required by Canon Law 97 , the
Formator will carefully evaluate the capacity of the pre-novice
to make a free, responsible and motivated vocational choice; a
choice made with the right intention98 and joy, a decision to
live for the Lord Jesus Crucified and to collaborate in His
salvific mission.99
In the process of discernment we must take into account the
candidate’s level of maturity in the life of faith, as well as
maturity in sacramental, doctrinal and moral life. This is to
avoid the novitiate being reduced to a simple catechumenate.
It is necessary that the person has sufficient intellectual ability
to understand the values and demands of Canossian
consecrated life.100
The Sister in charge also verifies whether the young woman
has “a character which seeks harmony and peace”101. This is a
sign of sufficient human maturity, a stable sense of identity
and a disposition to live serene relationships in community, as
well as with the Sisters who carry out the service of authority in
it.102
The capacity of knowing oneself both in one’s own gifts and
limits, in honesty and truth to oneself, and sound realism in
facing struggles and difficulties are signs of the desire to grow
and form oneself so as to become an authentic Canossian
Daughter of Charity.
97
Cf. Canon Law, Rome 1983, can. 641-645.
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 51.
99
Cfr. Magdalene, ibid, 71; Epistolario, I, 502; III/2, 979; III/3, 1696.
100
Cfr. Magdalene, Epistolario, II/2, 1179.
101
Ibid, III/2, 1766.
102
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 51.
98
57
It is necessary to evaluate whether the candidate has an
explicit inclination to the ministries of Charity typical of our
Institute. 103
If the above mentioned requisites are missing, St. Magdalene
reminds us: “… notwithstanding every help and attention given
and if a wrong choice has been made, the young person may,
without any fear, be sent away and the Institute may thus be
conserved in its spirit and its integrity.”104
If the novitiate is to take place in a country different from her
own, knowledge of the language used there will help her
insertion. Where it is possible, some knowledge of Italian is
also desirable in order to understand our charismatic texts.
Moving on to the novitiate
At the end of this stage, the young person writes to the
Provincial Superior stating her desire to start the novitiate.
It is up to the Provincial Superior, having taken into account
the opinions of the Formator and the community where the
young woman lived, to decide whether she is suited to
continue her formative journey with us.
Before beginning the following stage, she is offered the
possibility of spending a period in the novitiate community in
order to familiarise herself with the new environment. She is
also given the chance to spend some time with her family as
well as an adequate break for reflection and prayer.
103
104
Cf. ibid, 50-51.
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 126.
58
NOVITIATE
“I will lure her, and lead her out into the wilderness
and speak to her heart.” (Hos. 2:16)
Significance and objective
The novitiate is the “q uality time” par excellence of integral
initiation into the form of life proposed by the Canossian
charism and the experience of the radical following of Christ
Crucified whom the young person is ready to place at the
centre of her existence, with the guidance of Mary, faithful
disciple of her Son and Mother of Charity at the foot of the
Cross.
The young person is guided to a progressive assimilation of
the sentiments of Christ Crucified towards the Father and
towards the whole of humanity, and to the integration of her
own identity within the charism lived and safeguarded in the
Institute.
The main aim of this stage of Initial Formation is to gradually
introduce the young person to ‘docibilitas’, that is, the capacity
to learn from life with the most generous heart of Jesus, living
every situation of life and relationship as a place of formation.
This interior state of constant freedom to learn in life and from
life, is the goal of initial formation and it opens the way to
continue the journey, the life-long journey which is the
unending process of On-going Formation.
The novitiate normally lasts two years.
59
Persons in formation
In our Institute we admit to the novitiate the young woman who
has completed her pre-novitiate, expressed formally in writing
her desire to continue her journey of discernment regarding
her own religious vocation, and who is open to allow herself to
be formed to become an authentic Daughter of Charity.
Objectives
The young woman, who is accepted into the community of the
novitiate:






deepens the meaning of her baptismal consecration
and continues to study the Canossian consecrated life
in order to reach a more free and conscious choice
is aware of the gift of the vocation to the Institute of the
Canossian Daughters of Charity, and is open to the
needs of the whole world
faces the challenge of fulfilling her identity as a woman
and as a Christian in every aspect of her personality, in
behaviour and intentions. She prepares herself to
become a “sister and mother” for her brothers and
sisters, especially the most needy
experiences effectively and affectively the Canossian
charism as her own “new name” learning gradually to
integrate the reasoning of heart, mind and will with the
charismatic project and its values
undertakes a journey of progressive assimilation of the
sentiments of Christ Crucified towards the Father
experiences the lifestyle of the Institute and is open to
evaluate her own motivations and intentions, her real
capacity and suitability to live the demands of
consecration, in a life of community for the mission
60
Content

the human dimension
The young woman is guided in a journey of:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
105
gradually making her own the evangelical values which
lead to choices requiring renunciation as a
consequence of a vocation embraced out of love
freedom which leads her to become what she is called
to be, transforming her life in a radical way, thus
deepening her sense of belonging to Christ.
deepening the knowledge and acceptance of self,
distinguishing positive energies from those which need
redemption, learning how to integrate them serenely,
with the struggle that this implies
valuing her femininity, sexuality and affectivity, and
being able to manage increasingly better, her own
emotions, passions, sentiments and affections, in order
to become a fully mature woman105
growing in the ability to relate as an adult, respecting
diversity and with freedom to be herself within the
group
being truthful with herself, learning to detach herself
from personal preferences, allowing herself to be
challenged with serenity and growing in responsibility
to the commitments made
identifying clearly her main areas of immaturity and
taking the appropriate steps to overcome them.
Cf. Magdalene. Collection of Letters, III/1, 503.
61

the spiritual dimension
The young woman is guided in a journey of:
-
-
-

deepening her faith in Christ Crucified and her personal
relationship with Him 106, with an openness to intense
prayer that is present in her daily life
familiarity with the Word of God that promotes a
“mentality of faith” and acquisition of Gospel values
interiorization of the spirit of prayer and docility to the
action of the Holy Spirit
acceptance of solitude so as to be “grounded in God
alone”107
openness to the gift of silence as a means of listening
to the Word of God and living in intimacy with God
alone
deepening her knowledge of the vows in today’s
context and in all their dimensions: personal,
communitarian,
ministerial,
prophetic
and
eschatological
the charismatic dimension
The young woman is guided in a journey of:
-
-
discovering, ever more deeply, the Canossian identity
which is implied in the ‘new name’ she is called to
assume: Daughter of Charity, Servant of the Poor, a
name that is lived by fulfilling the two precepts of
love108
studying the charismatic sources as springs which
allow her to draw on Magdalene’s experience,
manifesting the desire to make them her own
106
Cf. Starting afresh from Christ, n. 20.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 55.
108
Cf. XIV General Chapter, Resolutions, 7.
107
62
-
-
-
-
encountering the Lord Jesus so as to “plant the Cross
firmly in” her “heart”109
gradually moulding her way of living and loving
according to that of the Lord, trying to assume His own
sentiments and interiorizing the virtues contemplated in
Him Crucified: obedience, humility, poverty
taking on the virtues of the Servant and internalising a
spirit of service
desiring to learn to love Mary, Mother and Foundress
of the Institute, and to be a disciple like her at the foot
of Jesus’ cross
acquiring a clear understanding of the Evangelical
Counsels and gradually accepting them, discovering a
unique possibility for the fulfilment of her humanity.
This applies in particular to:
accepting the call to live evangelical poverty according
to the model of “our Great Exemplar Jesus Crucified,
(…) who on the Cross was stripped of everything
except his love”110
 learning to live poverty as freedom, not only in
relation to things, but even to self, one’s limits and
the weaknesses of others
 valuing a lifestyle which is sober and simple, grateful
and freely given, showing her love for the poor and
care for creation
 experiencing poverty of means in daily life, in
activities and in the apostolate
 developing a serene attitude towards dependence
and interdependence and asking with simplicity for
what one needs, things and money, using them with
a sense of responsibility and giving an accurate and
transparent account of their use
109
110
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 134.
ibid, 34.
63
 being careful regarding time management, not
wasting it, but giving it generously to those who may
ask for help
-
accepting one’s call to live religious obedience
according to the model of Christ Crucified and Servant
who, on the Cross, offered “the noblest part of his
sacrifice, that is, His will”111
 journeying towards a balanced sense of autonomy.
 becoming aware of possible false expectations
regarding authority
 showing respect for others in dialogue and
collaboration, both with Superiors and in community
 clarifying the motivations behind every request so
that obedience may always be responsible even
when it is demanding and can only be understood
in faith
-
accepting the call to live consecrated chastity so that
all that one is and has, “may be totally and solely
dedicated to the Lord”112
 accepting serenely the reality of one’s own humanity
 living inter-personal relationships in a balanced and
mature way, in community and the apostolate, in
friendships and with all
 experiencing in reality both the affective and
effective detachment which consecrated life involves
and, as a consequence, living the most generous
spirit of Christ on the Cross
 living the Paschal mystery, with the help of Christian
asceticism which frees the heart and strengthens
the will
111
112
ibid, 30.
ibid, 53.
64
 adopting a new style of relating to one’s family of
origin while maintaining with them a relationship of
love, respect and gratitude.

the communitarian dimension
The novice is accompanied in a journey of:
-
-
-

acceptance of the other person, “different” from self,
opening herself to a style of welcoming without
distinction, of a simple and joyful fraternity, of sharing
what one is and what one has, of reciprocal “care”113,
of discernment, dialogue, co-responsibility, mutual
esteem
growth in a sense of belonging, esteem and gratitude
for her community and Institute, aided by active
participation in drawing up the Community Project
learning to deepen and interiorize the fundamental
elements of communion, promoting transparency of
relationships, freedom, open and responsible
friendship and developing the capacity to live fraternal
correction, seen as an ever greater openness to giving
and receiving forgiveness and understanding114
learning how to share the Word of God and Canossian
spirituality.
the apostolic - missionary dimension
The novice is presented with the following proposals:
-
113
114
filial love for the Church and openness to the world by
deepening the charismatic mandate of ‘making Jesus
known and loved’, in fidelity to God and all those she
meets
Congregation, Starting Afresh from Christ, n. 28.
Cf Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 93.
65
-
-
-
knowledge of the ministries of Charity proper to the
Institute, making meaningful experiences in the
ministry which she feels most attracted to and possibly
even a missionary experience
taking on the style of Canossian service: humility,
simplicity, amiability, gratuitousness and collaboration
love for the universality of the Church and mission “ad
gentes”, fostering within herself a mentality open to
inculturation
respect for the religious and cultural diversity of
peoples which leads to dialogue
a creative and joyful obedience capable of offering
gospel values to those she encounters in mission
a period of apostolic experience in a community
different from that of the novitiate, during the second
year. This experience is to be proportionate to the
capacity of the novice, well planned, accompanied and
then shared and evaluated with the Formator.
Formative Environments
The following are the specific environments where the
Novice’s formative process is carried out.

The formative community of the novitiate is where
every Sister contributes to the growth of the young
person by fostering her inner freedom and capacity to
love. This is always done with respect for the different
competences and roles.
The Sisters of the community are called to live their
relationship with the novice in a constructive way. They
live the formative guidelines with a sense of coresponsibility. Each one offers her own contribution,
especially the witness of a life that corresponds to
evangelical and charismatic values.
66
The presence of Sisters with a vocation “ad gentes”
may inspire the novice to be open to such a call.
The community sets aside time for dialogue in order to
promote reflection on the Word of God and on the
charism so as to discern, communicate and build
Canossian culture together, in a humble way, taking
nothing for granted, so as to share a great love for the
Kingdom and the passion of being disciples and
missionaries of Christ.115
While being sensitive to local customs, attention must
also be given to respect an appropriate atmosphere of
silence and solitude. These are essential values for a
continual and intense experience of communion with
God alone and contemplation of Christ Crucified.
The Formator is part of this community and, as the
person primarily responsible for the formation of the
novice she accompanies her on her journey in an
interpersonal relationship that is characterised by truth
and evangelical communion. 116 She always tries to
create an atmosphere of trust so that the novice may
express herself freely.
She helps the young woman recognise the voice of
God speaking to her, to verify her intentions and to
respond freely and with responsibility.
She is particularly attentive to discover a possible
vocation “ad gentes”.
She has a regular personal meeting with the novice to
help her with the process of discernment and as a
companion on the journey.
The Formator should be adequately prepared for the
delicate task of discerning and verifying the vocation of
the novice, of transmitting the genuine spirit of the
115
Cf V General Conference of the Latin-American Bishops, Aparecida:
final document, 2007.
116
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 131.
67
Institute and helping her to overcome the difficulties
that she may meet.
In order not to become an obstacle to the formative
action of the Spirit, the Formator needs to be gifted
with special human and spiritual qualities.
It is also important that the Formator has a deep
knowledge and experience of religious life, the mission
of the Institute and love the Church, remaining open to
its problems.
The Formator makes use of the help of other persons,
from within and outside the Institute, for implementing
the novitiate programme.
She also maintains an open relationship and evaluates
herself with the formative community, her local
Superior and Provincial and keeps them updated with
regard to the formative journey.
Once a year, she consults the community and presents
a written report to the Provincial Superior regarding the
progress of each novice.

The Apostolic Community welcomes the novice for
her apostolic training of a few months which takes
place during the second year of the novitiate. The
young person is entrusted to and accompanied by the
Superior of the community who maintains contact with
the Formator who remains responsible for the
formation of the novice.
The aim of the apostolic experience is to place the
novice in a situation of living the charism in an
environment different from that of the novitiate, that is,
where she will take more initiative.
In this new environment the young woman experiences
the joy and difficulty of being associated with the
mission of Jesus and learns how the Canossian
charism, through the ministries of Charity, takes
68
concrete forms and offers a specific contribution to the
pastoral action of the Church.
In this community, especially through the witness of
Sisters generously dedicated to others and through the
effort of integrating her spiritual, communal and
apostolic life, the novice is helped to create unity of life.
During her apostolic training and, especially at its end,
the novice re-reads and verifies the experience made
with her Formator.

Inter-Congregational formative programmes open
the young woman to an ecclesial horizon, to a
reciprocal appreciation of the various charisms and to
the deepening of specific issues regarding Religious
Life with the possibility of exchanging ideas with other
young people who are on a similar journey.

Formative times with the Temporary Professed
Sisters : sharing the experience and expectations with
those who are on the same journey, even though at
different stages, strengthens the continuity of the
formative process and stimulates the desire to grow.

Other significant and specific experiences such as
immersion in very poor places in order to deepen an
ecclesial and charismatic reflection on mission.
Modality
Systematic formation, in the light of the Word of God, the Rule
of life and the Unabridged Rule, charismatic texts, the teaching
of the Church and significant experiences of prayer, are
special means for the growth of the novice.
Where possible it is good that a Spiritual Director be available
to collaborate in dialogue with the Formator. In cases where it
69
seems necessary, the cooperation of other experts may be of
help.
The Formator guides the novice in making a personal project,
as a means towards unity of life, of change and assuming
responsibility for her own journey, and by so doing, takes the
first step towards on-going formation. This is understood as
“docibilitas”, that is the capacity of learning how to live every
situation of life as a formative opportunity.
From the point of view of faith, re-reading daily life within the
community becomes an opportunity for the purification of the
vocational motivations and ideals of the young woman.
In this context, the Formator helps the novice to recognize and
call by name even the crises that may appear along her
journey, accepting them as a normal component of life and a
precious occasion for growth. This is a favourable time in
which she recognizes God’s voice and interprets His actions.
The novice is also gradually guided, during these two years, to
an understanding and openness towards the ministerial and
missionary life of the Institute.
It is possible to celebrate, in a simple way, moments of
passing from one stage to another (e.g. – from first to second
year) or within the same stage (e.g. – giving the Rule of Life
and the Unabridged Rule).
Occasions for encountering Temporary Professed Sisters,
young women of the previous stages, taking part in intercongregational experiences, are an important enrichment.
These opportunities can also enhance her sense of belonging
to her own Religious Family.
Evaluation
At the end of the second year of novitiate, the Formator will
give the necessary information to the Provincial Superior and,
70
after having listened to the opinion of the community, will draw
up a written report about the novice as a candidate for
Religious Profession.
Besides the norms set out in Canon Law 117 , the following
criteria must be kept in mind:
- constant commitment in following Christ Crucified,
expressed through her capacity to live a humble and
universal love, to be open to forgiveness and service within
the community and in ministry;
- the willingness to share values and things;
- the desire of making her own the Will of God “in the spirit of
Jesus Christ, […], a most amiable, generous and patient
spirit”118
- the capacity to live in solitude and experience ‘God alone’
- evidence of a dynamic and sufficient internalization and
personal practice of the values of Canossian consecrated
life and of the charism, not only from an intellectual point of
view but especially regarding the integration of these
elements with her heart and will
- the impact of faith in daily life through a wise interpretation
of events and the cultivation of a spirit of prayer
- discovering within herself elements of the Canossian
charism which give form to her being and identity
- recognising and accepting her own areas of immaturity and
taking appropriate steps to overcome them and to
deal with her limits according to the commitment
undertaken to live consecrated life
- the possibility of living serene and balanced relationships in
community, the willingness to collaborate and to take care
of others
- a specific predisposition to our Canossian ministries and a
real inclination to serve the poorest
117
118
Cf Canon Law, can. 652-656.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 24.
71
-
“docibilitas”, that is, willingness to learn from life and
through life
First Profession
At the end of the novitiate, the young woman, after evaluating
her journey, presents her written application to the Provincial
Superior in order to make her First Profession.
If the answer is positive, the novice is offered a particularly
intense time of internalization and prayer before Temporary
Profession that will make her an effective member of our
Institute.
72
JUNIORATE
“I will give … a white stone, a stone with
a new name written on it” (Rev. 2, 17)
Significance and aim
The first Profession opens a new stage of formation for the
Daughter of Charity, that of the juniorate. The Sister begins
this phase of her journey which is a continuation of the
previous one, except that it requires even more of her. In
particular she is called to deepen and verify her decision to be
consecrated to the Lord forever.
In the apostolic community in which she is placed, the Sister is
called to interiorize and integrate the values learned during the
novitiate and to verify responsibly her aptitude for living fully
the life and mission of the Institute.
When a vocation “ad gentes” is identified, she continues the
discernment and opens herself more and more to the
generous gift of self in an attitude of willingness to obey.
The juniorate is a time when the Sister learns through
experience that the love of the Crucified Lord is much greater
than her weak and limited heart; while cultivating an ever
deeper relationship with him, she allows the gift of His Spirit to
enliven every aspect of her existence. The juniorate is a
valuable time for a deeper and more personalised experience
of the Canossian charism which must be understood and lived
by the Sister as her identity and the unique way God is leading
her towards total self-fulfilment. This process of
personalisation pre-supposes the convergence of all her
energies towards interior unity so as to live the same
sentiments of Christ Crucified. In her daily life she personally
experiences how the ideal of Canossian life becomes ever73
more the reason for her existence and her new way of being
and relating to God and others.
The juniorate, which in our Institute lasts from at least five
years to a maximum of nine, is also a time in which the Sister
completes her intellectual and ministerial preparation, while
she gradually becomes involved in the life and mission of the
community. However, in the first year of the juniorate it would
be better that the Sister is not involved in systematic studies.
Under the special care of the local Superior, the Temporary
Professed Sister experiences in this new formative context, a
lifestyle in which more is entrusted to her own initiative.
Moreover, the sister must also reconcile, personally and
responsibly the different demands of her personal
commitments, to the needs of her community and her
apostolic work. Sometimes she may feel a sense of confusion
and disorientation in the effort of trying to create harmony
among the different dimensions of Canossian life.
Striving towards unity of life is a life-long process. It is
essential therefore, that from the beginning the Sister is
accompanied by the Formator (Local Superior) in this difficult
task. The sister is required, day after day, to continue to build
and integrate her life around the vital core of her vocation, the
Canossian charism, the Greatest Love contemplated in the
Great Exemplar.
Persons in formation
Junioriate Sisters are all those who have made their
Temporary Profession and wish to offer themselves forever to
the Lord as Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor.
74
Pedagogy of the Greatest Love
The specific goal of this formative stage is unity of life. In order
to achieve this, the Sister must be helped to live daily ‘Inspice
et fac’ which characterized the experience of St. Magdalene
and which she is gradually coming to understand to be her
personal call too. Like St. Magdalene, she learns how to keep
her eyes fixed on the Crucified Lord so as to understand and
penetrate evermore the “very special” love with which Jesus
loved His Father, obeying him to the point of giving up His life,
and with which He loved humanity, each one of us, “miserable,
poor, sinners”.119
“Returning (…) always to the Divine Exemplar of the
Daughters of Charity”120, as her centre of gravity, she learns to
let herself be filled by His love and experiences that the love
she contemplates becomes, within her, vital strength that
sustains and motivates her every attitude and action.
In every season of life, Canossian formation is a constant
journey towards conformity to Christ Crucified so as to love
everyone with His sentiments, in a continuous search for God
alone and His Glory. This modality becomes the pedagogy
typical of the stage of the juniorate.
When the Sister discovers, through the grace of the Spirit and
fidelity to prayer and asceticism, that love is a force which
draws together all her energies and unifies all her actions, it is
then that she may undertake the path towards freedom. This is
freedom to love gratuitously, in patience and generosity, in
accepting lovingly all the sisters, in giving herself
wholeheartedly in the ministries, in “remaining” with Mary close
those who suffer, in humbly carrying out any service and in an
openness of heart that goes beyond her limited horizons.
This interior freedom the Sister is called to renew daily, leads
her to feel responsible for her formation, to cultivate greater
119
120
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, 1,43
ibid, 94.
75
“docibilitas”, that is, the willingness to learn, in every occasion
and situation, how to love with the heart of Jesus. In the
measure in which love for Jesus Crucified takes root in her
heart, she learns how to face, with serenity and courage, the
inevitable difficulties she meets in the concrete situations of
daily living. The depth of this love for Christ brings with it a
heightened passion for the things of the Kingdom of God.
Formative areas and content
In the years prior to her decision to give herself forever to the
Lord in the Institute of the Daughters of Charity, Servants of
the Poor, the Temporary Professed Sister is called to grow
fully as a person. This formative programme covers various
areas and content. The subject matter includes formation in
the charismatic, affective, intellectual and apostolic areas.
“God alone” in Christ Crucified.
During the time of the juniorate, the formation of the Daughter
of Charity aims to favour the growth of the Sister in the
understanding and assimilation of charismatic identity by
deepening her mystical experience, ascetical journey and
apostolic mission, thus strengthening her sense of belonging
to the Institute.

Mystical experience
At the heart of St. Magdalene’s mystical experience and,
therefore, that of every Daughter of Charity, there is the search
for God alone, contemplated in Jesus Crucified. The Sister is
encouraged to make the contemplation of the Crucified One,
the most valued theological experience of her life. This is
where she learns to know the depths of God’s love and
penetrate its unfathomable riches. It is a love that is the giving
76
of self in surrender and total abandonment, open to each one
of us “while we were still sinners” (Rm 5:6), a love that is
stripped of everything enabling us to love all those we come
into contact with. The Sister is encouraged to allow herself to
be enkindled evermore by this love and to consider that the
goal she longs to reach is that of, “knowing” Jesus Crucified (cf
1 Cor 2:2) and to “boast” in His Cross. (cf Gal. 6:14)
She forms herself to prayer by internalising the “Great Love”,
praying “like” the Crucified Lord and with his sentiments.
Moreover, through the “spirit of prayer”, the Sister learns, even
in difficult times, to search for God alone and Jesus Crucified
in all things in her life, just as St. Magdalene did.
The best way “to know in some way the Lord”121 is the Word of
God that she listens to every day during the Eucharistic
Celebration and that she welcomes and deepens during
meditation. She learns how to love and enjoy it by pondering
on it in her heart, like Mary. The Word, conserved and faithfully
kept in her heart each day, becomes the light for her journey,
a criterion for discernment, for her choices and a constant
invitation to conversion.
Like St. Magdalene, the Sister too, learns how to grow in the
love of Jesus in the Eucharist, memorial of the Lord’s death.
Nurtured daily by Him, she learns that the Eucharist identifies
her in life with the broken body of the Lord Jesus.
For the Daughter of Charity, love for Jesus Crucified is
inseparable from the love for Mary, Mother of Sorrows,
“constituted Mother of Charity at the foot of the Cross.”122 The
Sister learns evermore how to remain like Mary at the foot of
Jesus’ Cross and to nurture a “humble, sincere love” for Her,
concretely expressed in the imitation of her life in order to
become, like the Mother, a true disciple of Jesus, capable of
121
ibid, 27.
Magdalene of Canossa, The Rules of the Congregation of the Daughters
of Charity. Unabridged Text. Milanese Manuscript, 1978, 21.
77
122
perceiving Him and accepting Him in today’s “crucified ones”,
whom she meets along life’s way.
Mary at the foot of the Cross generates in us that love which
allows us to live our vocation well.

Ascetical Journey
The ascetical journey of the Temporary Professed Sister
consists in the free decision of conforming herself in all things
to Jesus Crucified so as to become progressively a disciple of
the Cross.
In assuming the charismatic virtues, humility, in particular, it is
necessary to make one’s own the style of service typical of
Jesus the Servant, who washed His apostles’ feet without
feeling humiliated, because He was secure in the love that, as
the Son, He had always received from the Father.
In this formative process, the Sister appropriates her new
identity in a special way: in fidelity and consistency with the
name she bears, Daughter of Charity – Servant of the Poor,
she chooses to be humble – poor – obedient, experiencing, at
the same time, the beauty and the difficulty in the joyful
commitment of service.
The Sister, who has welcomed within herself the Word of the
Lord, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him
renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt
16:24), learns gradually to appreciate renunciation, considered
not as an end in itself, but as a means of being like Jesus and
to keep her heart free and capable of loving. She avails herself
of the opportunity of every challenge and invitation, to put
Christ Crucified before every personal satisfaction both in
community and apostolic life.
78
The Vows are also part of this journey of freedom.
Poverty: The Sister is called to practise, gradually but
faithfully, detachment and renunciation so as to be free
regarding things and willing to give of herself in community
and the apostolate. In Jesus Crucified she discovers His
richness, the One who provides everything and from whom
she continually receives.
The poor who struggle to make a living are a strong reminder
of the call to solidarity in real ways in her everyday life and
apostolic service.
Together with all the Sisters, she learns how to share what she
is and what she receives as a gift, renouncing unnecessary
things and is happy with what is available. She trains herself to
live in a co-responsible manner in the use of common goods,
to choose moderation and only the essential as criteria for her
personal life, to use money with transparency and
accountability and to be open to the needs of the poorest.
Obedience: “Jesus, though He was Son, learnt to obey
through suffering” (Heb 5:8) and the Sister also learns how to
make an “offering of her own will”123 trying, at every request, to
accomplish what the Father desires, as Jesus did. By
exercising loving obedience, she grows in freedom, and is able
to make herself available, responsibly and consciously,
adapting herself willingly to the calls of obedience “for the sake
of Christ” and Him alone.
In order to attain this purity of intention, the Sister is called to
assume an attitude of constant and persevering availability to
obey all God’s mediations in daily life, especially human
mediations. These are the community where she lives, her
Superior and the Sisters with whom she collaborates in the
apostolate. “Free are those persons who are constantly
attentive to learn from every situation in life, above all, see in
every person around them, a mediation of the will of the Lord,
123
Magdalene, Regole e scritti, I, 57.
79
however mysterious. “It was for liberty that Christ freed us”
(Gal 5:1). He has freed us that we might be able to encounter
God in the innumerable ways of daily life.”124
She may meet difficulties in the exercise of obedience,
especially when her personal wishes do not correspond with
the mediations. Training herself every day to seek and to
accomplish God’s will, she uses all the faculties of mind, heart
and will, remaining open to evaluation and to dependence.
The Sister must be helped in the exercise of discernment.
Through prayer and with the Local Superior she clarifies the
possible motives for her reactions and feelings of resistance,
and through her participation in community meetings she is
invited to offer her contribution, especially, in drawing up the
Community Project and in choices regarding the community
and apostolate.
Chastity: Chastity is love, and Consecrated Life expresses
our passionate love for God and for our brothers and sisters.
We love to the point of renouncing the good and natural
demands of our heart; having an exclusive love for a person,
creating our own family and having children. The Daughters of
Charity are called to cultivate a unique love for God, the
Supreme Good, so as to give witness that only the Creator can
fill the heart of the creature. They cultivate this love in such a
way as “to use their time, all their care, all their thoughts for
Divine Glory and act in such a way that all they are and have
are totally and singularly dedicated to the Lord.”125
Totality and single-heartedness: this goal indicated by St.
Magdalene asks every Daughter of Charity, in every stage of
life, to put the love of Christ Crucified above all other things in
order to give herself gratuitously and with undivided heart to
our brothers and sisters, especially the neediest.
124
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, The service of authority and obedience, 2008, n. 20/g
125
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti , 1, 53.
80
The Sister is presented with the requirements of consecrated
chastity. She is accompanied in her journey of openness and
dedication to the Sisters of the community and all those she
meets in the apostolate. She is advised to watch over her
feelings and relationships so that they may be lived in a free
and freeing way. Fraternal life in community, in particular,
remains the testing ground for her daily conversion from a
possessive kind of love to a self-giving and altruistic love.
The community is the place where the Temporary Professed
Sister, is called to grow in her sense of belonging to the
Canossian Family. She considers the Sisters as those with
whom the Lord invites her to walk in living the same charism.
She tries to value their gifts and accept their limits and to see
the difference in age, formation, character and experience as
opportunities to grow in kindness. These differences also give
her the opportunity to practice acceptance, patience, kindness
and amiability, with the Heart of Christ Crucified, even in times
of difficulty and tension. This training in fraternal love within the
community helps the Sister to live the apostolate with the
same spirit of Jesus, a “most amiable, most generous, most
patient spirit.”126
Affective area – The exercise of the vows of poverty,
obedience and chastity is directly linked to the affective life of
the Sister, as it is for any other Daughter of Charity, because it
demands the freedom to let oneself be loved by God alone so
as to love others with the Heart of God. The Sister who, from
the time of the Novitiate, sought “to plant the Crucified One in
her heart”127, continues with persistence during the juniorate to
draw near to him, contemplating His unlimited love. Fascinated
and always surprised by being the object of such a boundless
love, she lets herself be guided by two basic certainties: “the
certainty of being infinitely loved and the certainty of being
126
127
Ibid, 24.
Ibid, 133.
81
capable of loving without limits.” 128 This conviction springs
from the contemplation of the Crucified One and fills the
Sister’s heart with the joy of belonging to God and being loved
by Him. This joy, fosters within her a sense of gratitude for
such a unique love and strengthens her will to return His
goodness with the generous giving of herself.
With this sense of gratitude comes a certain freedom and
affective autonomy and this gives her the capacity to re-read
her own past, to reconcile herself with it and to enjoy that love
which she has already received from many people,
recognizing in them a sign of God’s most generous love.
The journey towards affective maturity is certainly not without
internal and external difficulties and obstacles. It calls for a
readiness to face the truth of one’s life, recognizing possible
weaknesses in the affective and sexual areas, in order to
control them. This requires the practice of a degree of restraint
in behaviours and relationships and learning to cope with
affective solitude.
The Sister often finds herself having to deal with her own
selfish tendencies that make her want to possess rather than
giving to others. Supported and accompanied by the person
responsible for her formation, she gradually learns freedom
through personal choices of detachment, renunciation,
purification of sentiments and conversion. Letting herself be
educated by the Father who sees in secret, and seeking to
encounter Him in silence and solitude, she opens herself
gradually to accept, “for the sake of Christ”, the crucifying
demands of love. It is always Jesus Crucified who solicits in
her the determination to persevere in love, with the humility of
one who knows how “to carry such a precious treasure in such
a fragile vase.”129 Intimacy with God, cultivated at the foot of
Jesus Crucified and in the Eucharist, uprightness of heart and
128
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community, 1994, n. 22.
129
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 53.
82
simplicity to allow others to see her in her own affective
weakness, so as to be able to overcome it, are all efficacious
means that help the Sister to become gradually more and
more ready to love as Jesus loves.
Intellectual area – The Daughter of Charity, called today to
make Jesus known and loved to our sisters and brothers,
needs to be adequately prepared to explain the reason for the
hope in her life and to respond as best she can, to the
challenges of contemporary culture.
This is not only a question of studying, but of a more global
formation that concerns a journey in faith which is expressed
in commitment and intellectual reflection.
The essential goal of this aspect of formation is, therefore, to
bring together faith that is lived and faith that is understood.
As an adult and a believer, the Sister is called to learn that
these two moments are simultaneously present since lived
faith needs to be understood, while faith that is understood
must be expressed in daily life.
This work of processing her faith is a true spiritual action, not
only for the sister’s personal growth but even for the
community of believers.
She knows that her primary mission is that of witnessing by
her life, the Love of God as contemplated in Christ Crucified,
and to know how to announce it with conviction in our
apostolic ministries. For this reason she needs to deepen her
theological, biblical and charismatic knowledge and to be
familiar with the social and cultural changes taking place.
In this area of formation, too, the Sister is encouraged to
harmonize everything around the nucleus of the Canossian
charism and to identify her will and sentiments, with those of
Christ Crucified, thus deepening the wisdom of the Cross
within her.
During the period of the juniorate, the Sister is normally offered
the possibility of completing her theological, biblical and
83
pedagogical education, and also to acquire a professional
qualification through appropriate courses in order to work in
the ministry for which she shows a particular inclination.
The study of the charism leads the Sister to deepen and
interiorize evermore the Canossian spirituality based on its
Exemplars, Jesus Crucified and Our Lady of Sorrows, and to
value its special richness.
Knowledge of the history of the Institute offers the Sister the
possibility of growing in a sense of belonging to her Religious
Family and to appreciate the apostolic zeal that has always
characterised it.
The Temporary Professed Sister is also called to cultivate an
attitude of ‘docibilitas’ even with regard to the intellectual area
of formation. This is necessary if she is to keep her mind and
heart open to grow in a deeper understanding of faith and
contemporary culture and also to remain flexible in learning
new communication techniques.
Besides courses of study, the Sister must recognise that the
most important “knowledge” is that of Christ and Christ
Crucified “in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
are hidden.” (Col 2:3)

Apostolic mission
Our Institute is, by nature, apostolic and the name Daughters
of Charity, Servants of the Poor, expresses its twofold
direction, the charism of the Greatest Love that St. Magdalene
contemplated in Jesus Crucified. The apostolate is a
fundamental part of our charism, and every Daughter of
Charity is formed to live it, even from the first contact with our
Religious Institute.
During the novitiate, the novice is helped to recognise the
apostolic spirit, to know the ministries of charity of our Institute,
to understand the passion and the way that St. Magdalene
asked us to live them.
84
During the juniorate, instead, she must learn to live the
apostolate as the place of her personal formation, in such a
way as to avoid, now and in the future, dangerous dichotomies
between a life of intimacy with God and dedication to our
brothers and sisters.
For this reason, during the period of juniorate, the Sister is
accompanied in a gradual introduction to and experience of,
one or other of the apostolic ministries, and above all, it is the
opportunity for her formation as an apostle. She is helped to
grow in awareness that in the gift of self to her needy sisters
and brothers, she experiences the love of Christ Crucified who
makes her capable of loving with His sentiments. If she is
aware of her identity as Daughter and Servant when she is
with the people she serves, the Sister will learn to cultivate in
herself a love that is humble and ready to serve, kind and
patient, imitating Jesus who “declared that He had come not to
be served but to serve.”130
The Sister is given experience in various services and is
helped to keep in mind “that in God’s House every ministry or
service is always great.”131 By contemplating Jesus Crucified
with the eyes of St. Magdalene and serving Him with love in
the ministries, she nurtures her apostolic zeal. She also
becomes aware that by the free and generous gift of self, she
is enriched and that while evangelising others she too is
evangelised, especially if these ‘others’ are poor and needy.
Apostolate becomes a truly formative experience when it leads
the Sister to search for God alone and His Glory, purifying her
heart from the desire for gratification, personal recognition and
satisfaction with self and her gifts.
She finds a real help for growth in her apostolic service
through dialoguing with the Superior of the community. In this
dialogue the sister evaluates her behaviour and discusses her
130
131
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, 1, 205.
Ibid 205-206.
85
difficulties. She is urged to cultivate the spirit of the Institute,
searching for God’s Glory in a spirit of humility, patience,
kindness, amiability, zeal and generosity, practising the virtues
of the Servant. She is encouraged to make the apostolate the
content of her prayer of intercession and to humbly ask God’s
help so that she may be able to give God to her brothers and
sisters with a free heart. It is also formative practice for her to
evaluate herself with the Sisters of the apostolic community
with whom she shares the mission. From them she learns how
to transmit the charism in the exercise of her ministry, allowing
herself to be taught and enlightened by their experience and
apostolic passion.

Sense of identity and belonging
The formative journey of the juniorate helps to strengthen a
sense of identity in the Temporary Professed Sister who is
gradually discovering herself, her personality and her name in
the charism of the Greatest Love and in the elements that
define it.
As the sense of her identity grows, so does her sense of
belonging and this sense of belonging is an essential aspect of
community life. The Sister is called to discover more and more
that the Institute’s project was lived by the Foundress, St.
Magdalene, and by a community of Sisters who, through their
fidelity, allow her now to recognise her identity in the charism
of the Daughters of Charity. This recognition strengthens her
decision to belong to the Institute of the Daughters of Charity
which, increasingly she sees as her family. She feels she
belongs to it, is a living member and considers the history of
the last two hundred years of the Institute as her own prehistory or the distant roots from which her life sprang.
The decision to be part of this Institute is lived in practice by
her willingness to live together with the sisters who compose
her community, because she has discovered that beyond
differences and personal limits, there is a common project
86
thought of by God and entrusted to each Sister, a project
which becomes clearer by living together.
The stronger the sense of belonging, the greater is the sense
of identity.
The Sister moves from a sense of identity to that of belonging,
putting into practice the three constitutive elements of the
charism, making concrete efforts to make choices in her life of
prayer, her ascetical journey and in her apostolic mission.
The mutual growth of these elements is a criterion of
evaluation of the formative itinerary of the juniorate.
Formative Environment

The apostolic-formative community: the Temporary
Professed Sister, who has pronounced her first vows,
is inserted into an apostolic-formative community,
which guarantees the conditions for her continual
spiritual, charismatic, community, apostolic and
missionary formation.
The passage from the formative community of the
novitiate to an apostolic-formative community is very
delicate. In this community she is called to take
responsibility for her growth and to be helped and
supported not only by the Superior but also by all the
Sisters of the community with whom she shares her
life.
She makes her gifts available to the Sisters,
collaborating with them in the building up of fraternal
communion.
In community the Sister experiences the joys and
difficulties of living together, of establishing mature and
evangelical relationships, of deepening her identity as a
Daughter of Charity, nurturing the same sentiments of
Jesus for the Sisters, in particular, charity, meekness,
humility and patience.
87
It is the responsibility of the Provincial Superior to
choose a community in which, the charism of St.
Magdalene is really lived, even with the inevitable limits
in any situation, and where the Sister may be
confirmed in her God-given vocation.
It is a sign of maturity when the Sister knows how to
appreciate the gift of living in the community, without
wanting it to be perfect. She accepts to live with people
she has not chosen and who have not chosen her.
In choosing the formative community for the Temporary
Professed Sister, the Provincial Superior makes sure
that it is a community where processes of communal
growth are fostered. Such a community will allow the
Sister to live a truly formative experience and also
makes the community itself more genuinely fraternal
and the subject of its own formation. Processes for
growth include Lectio Divina, community discernment,
a shared Community Project and fraternal correction.
The Provincial Superior also pays attention to the
apostolic dimension of the community so that the Sister
may experience herself in a positive light in the
Institute’s ministries and assess her aptitudes and
ability to collaborate. Being with more experienced
Sisters who are animated by apostolic zeal, the Sister
can mature through dedicating herself to different
people, and, in the spirit of St. Magdalene, favour the
least and the poor, learning how to recognize the face
of Christ Crucified in them. Being in contact with many
lay people who work with us in different ministries, the
Sister has the opportunity of comparing her vocation
with other vocations and growing in ability to dialogue
and relate with others.
During the juniorate, the Provincial Superior should
take care to offer the Sister an experience in at least
88
two different community contexts, in which she can
enrich her experience and assess her ability to
integrate herself in different community settings.
The formative accompaniment of the Sister in this
particular time of her religious life is entrusted to the
Superior of the apostolic-formative community. She will
have particular concern for the Sister, following her
progress
with
care,
in
various
community
commitments: prayer, formative meetings and
household chores. She also observes her in her
apostolic commitment.
She encourages her to be open to differences of age,
culture, nationality and temperament, helping her to
understand that true love is marked by the Cross,
forgiveness and reconciliation, and to help her
recognize the positive aspects of other Sisters, without
envy and pettiness. She animates the community so
that it may witness the charity of Jesus Crucified and
zeal for the salvation of every person.
The Superior meets the Temporary Professed Sister
periodically and helps her to re-read her daily life within
the community and the apostolate in the light of Jesus
Crucified. She sustains her fidelity in her vocational
choice and the commitments taken on with the
profession of her vows. She is particularly attentive to
encourage her to journey towards unity of life,
reminding her how much St. Magdalene desired her
Daughters to be “hermits and apostles”, contemplatives
in action.
Using processes of discernment, and in continuity with
the previous stage of formation, the Superior continues
to verify the authenticity of her vocation.
89
To ensure continuity in the formative journey, the
Superior, remains in dialogue with the Formator of the
Novices during the first year of juniorate.
Every year, before renewal of vows, the Superior,
having consulted the community, draws up a report on
the formative journey of the Sister and sends it to the
Provincial Superior together with the written request of
the Sister. On the basis of this report, her request may
or may not be accepted.
The Formator at Province Level is the Sister to whom
the Provincial Superior entrusts the responsibility of
planning, coordinating and evaluating the formative
programme of the Temporary Professed Sisters, in
collaboration with the Provincial Team. In particular,
she organises the periodical formative gatherings that
might also include a missionary experience outside her
own Province. During these gatherings, the Formator
gives priority to the study of the charism, personal and
group dialogue, and she encourages spiritual
communication and sharing of life experiences in view
of the Sisters’ progress towards integration. She
updates the Provincial Superior on the progress of the
Sisters and also communicates with their Superiors.
Modality
The most effective modalities for formation, characteristic of
the juniorate, are:



regular personal accompaniment guaranteed by the
Superior of the community
faithfulness to a life of prayer and regular spiritual
direction
a community life in which the Temporary Professed
Sister experiences day to day contact with the Word,
90


communion and fraternal dialogue, reconciliation, the
joy and difficulty of living together and passion for the
Kingdom
the drawing up of a personal project which helps in the
concretisation and evaluation of her personal,
communitarian and ministerial experience that leads to
unity of life
participation in inter-religious dialogue, formative
meetings of the Institute and with other Congregations
Specific Times
Every year, the Sister is given the opportunity for formative
group experiences, including a month-long period of formation
during which she makes her annual retreat. Where possible,
an even longer period is recommended. These possibilities
nourish her sense of belonging to a greater Family and, if they
are at inter-Provincial and/or inter-Congregational level, they
can be a very enriching intercultural exchange and a
meaningful opportunity for evangelical and charismatic
renewal.
About three years after the First Profession, the Sister may be
offered the opportunity of a longer group experience. The
programme is organised by Regional Conferences.
After the fifth renewal of Temporary Vows, the Sister may
present her request to be admitted to Final Profession,
specifying, where applicable, her eventual availability “ad
gentes”. It is the duty of the Provincial Superior and her
Council, in dialogue with the Local Superior and the Provincial
Formator of the Temporary Professed Sisters, to evaluate her
request for final profession and to decide whether to accept it,
to prolong the juniorate for further growth, or, following a
serious discernment and dialogue with the sister concerned, to
ask her to leave.
91
FINAL PROFESSION
“I will betroth you to myself forever” (Hos 2:21)
Significance and aim
The formative journey of the Canossian juniorate has the aim
of preparing the Sister of Temporary Profession to choose
forever, as Supreme Good, God alone in Jesus Crucified, in
our Religious Institute.
Final Profession is the culminating moment of the process of
discernment which began with accompaniment and vocational
orientation and continued during the years of the pre-novitiate,
novitiate and juniorate. It is a fundamental and definitive
choice of the life and freedom of the Daughter of Charity, a
totally absorbing act which embraces the whole of life, her
being and action. Through it the Sister places her life forever
at the service of God and the Church in our Institute, by
making public profession of chastity, poverty and obedience in
the spirit of Christ Crucified.
Final Profession brings to fullness her baptismal consecration.
God embraces the Sister and strengthens the covenant of love
that already exists and is now sealed with a new name of
Daughter of Charity-Servant of the Poor. The Sister who
makes her Final Profession is definitively accepted and
inserted into our Religious Family to which she entrusts herself
with all her heart – as expressed in the formula of Profession –
“to tend in humility to the perfection of charity”, for God’s Glory
in the service of the Church and for the good of our brothers
and sisters, especially the poorest.
92
Criteria for admission
To be admitted to Final Profession, besides the norms
prescribed in Canon Law 132 , it is necessary that particular
attitudes, matured in the previous phases, are recognised in
the Sister.
This means the full identification of herself with the charism of
the Daughters of Charity – Servants of the Poor and of her
project of life with the charismatic project in its characteristic
components. The decision of the Sister to live the gift of her
vocation is not sufficient; she must show her love for it and
acknowledge the truth of who she really is.
In particular, it is necessary to discern a specific aptitude to
live:
 the mystical experience of the Canossian Daughter
of Charity, nourished by constant and loving
contemplation of Jesus Crucified, the Exemplar to
penetrate with the heart and to be translated into daily
life.
 the ascetical journey of the one who is called to have
the same sentiments of the Son, to lead “a submitted,
humble and hidden life, totally engaged in looking for
the Divine Glory and the salvation of souls. Further, it
means animating all our actions and work with the
Spirit of Jesus Christ, a spirit of charity, gentleness,
meekness and humility, a spirit of zeal and fortitude, a
most amiable, most generous and most patient
spirit”133, so as to live as true Daughter of Charity –
Servant of the Poor.
132
133
Cf. Canon Law, can. 657-658.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 23.
93
 the passion and apostolic spirit of our Religious
Family called to carry out the yearning of our
Foundress, ‘Above all make Jesus Christ known’, in
willingness to go wherever there is greater need for
education, religious instruction and the pastoral care of
the sick, ‘imitating’ the examples and the Spirit of the
Crucified One and witnessing to preferential love for
the poor.
 maturity and affective freedom so as to love with a
big heart one’s Sisters and those we serve in our
ministries, to nurture compassion for those who suffer,
to serve with humility and generosity, to discover the
face of Jesus in every person.
 aptitudes for living in community, in cordial
acceptance of every Sister without distinction,
acceptance of diversity, willingness to communicate
and share spiritual and material gifts, openness to
forgiveness and reconciliation so as to grow together in
the same faithfulness to the gift received.
 adequate knowledge of self and sufficient interior
freedom of heart, mind, will, as well as the capacity for
controlling one’s less mature aspects and openness to
“docibilitas”, that is, continual conversion so that the
formation of the Sister may be on-going.
 spiritual and intellectual maturity of the woman as a
believer who lives and deepens her faith, of the humble
disciple of the Crucified One who continues to discover
and to fall in love with the wisdom of the cross, of the
educator in faith who shares her faith and wisdom and
allows herself to be evangelised by the wisdom and
faith of others, of the apostle who experiences God
while giving herself in the apostolate.
94
Immediate Preparation for Final Profession
Aware of the seriousness of Final Profession and of the
responsibility it implies, the Institute considers it indispensable
to guarantee the Sister admitted, an adequate and prolonged
time of preparation in an environment which assures an
atmosphere of silence, prayer and recollection.
The Sister should have the possibility to live a particularly
meaningful experience which, through the understanding and
assimilation of the values of Canossian Religious Life, allows
her to bring together all she has experienced. In prayer and
silence, she should be able to re-read and evaluate her life,
recognising the unique story which God has written in it, a
story of love and predilection which now spontaneously
culminates in the decision to belong to Him, totally and forever.
Final Profession is the natural conclusion of that process of
attraction and divine fascination that the Sister experienced
during the years of preparation; the rediscovery of God’s
immeasurable and faithful love leads, as a consequence, to
the total giving of herself in love. The Sister responds to God’s
love with her love in the certainty that the God who called her
to our Institute of Charity “will accomplish the work of His
Mercy” according to the measure of her trust and surrender,
and nothing will separate her from the love of Jesus Crucified
who gave Himself for love.
The intense time of preparation for Final Vows normally lasts
at least two months and the journey of preparation is entrusted
by the Provincial Superior to a Sister who is helped by a
formative team. The contribution of experts in spiritual and
charismatic areas is included in the agreed programme.
Before Final Profession, an appropriate retreat is offered to the
Sister.
95
In order to be admitted to Final Profession, the Sister sends
the Provincial Superior her request asking to be definitively
accepted into our Religious Family. In her letter she expresses
the reasons that move her and the spiritual and charismatic
maturity that she believes she has reached so far.
It is the duty of the Provincial Superior, with the consent of her
Council and the ratification of the Superior General, to admit
the Sister to Final Profession.
96
ON-GOING FORMATION
“The Lord is my heritage, my cup:
You, and only You, hold my lot secure” (Ps. 16:5)
Significance and aim
St. Magdalene of Canossa, our Foundress and Mother, in the
Preface of the Unabridged Rule, clearly underlines the goal to
which each one of us is called in her journey of consecration. It
is a “high” goal, “it involves more” 134 , which seems
unattainable without the gift of vocation and the certainty of
divine grace. It is not only a matter of living the commandment
of love towards God and our neighbour, but to live it according
to the Great Exemplar, exercising His virtues and living with
the same sentiments.
On-going formation is for us an intrinsic requirement of the call
itself; the call to become a new creature. It is the action of the
Father who forms the heart of the Son in each one of us and
guides us towards conformity to Jesus Crucified, which is
never fully realized. On-going formation, guided by God Alone,
our Father and Master, is, therefore, a sure and constant gift.
It is a continuous and daily process which unfolds throughout
our entire life and which involves the whole person: heart,
mind and energies. On-going formation requires “docibilitas”,
the willingness of each one of us to consider every experience
of life as a time and opportunity for formation. Experiences
such as every age and season, every activity and relationship,
prayer as well as mission, health as well as illness, every
place and situation in which we find ourselves, even those
134
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 23.
97
which are difficult and apparently adverse become formative
experiences. For every Daughter of Charity, everything can be
formative, insofar as each one of us is the protagonist of her
own formation, exercises the freedom to allow herself to learn
from life and for the whole of her life, in the light of the Paschal
Mystery. On-going formation is an essential, not only to keep
the charism alive but also so that it may be enriched by new
nuances brought to it by the particular characteristics of each
Sister. If it is lived in fidelity, it allows the members of the
Institute to be meaningful signs for young people and for those
we serve in our ministries, revealing the beauty of a life,
consecrated and given to the Greatest Love.
Persons in formation
All the members of our Institute, without exception, are the
subjects of their own on-going formation. During our Initial
Formation, each one of us began to learn to live “docibilitas”,
and each one of us has the duty to continue the process of
self-formation after Final Profession, taking advantage of every
occasion, ordinary or extraordinary. No one can substitute us
in this commitment to live the same sentiments of Jesus and to
strive towards the fullness of Love contemplated in Christ
Crucified. Therefore, each day, we are invited to renew our
free response to the call, as disciples of Christ, and we are
sent to be apostles among our brothers and sisters most in
need of education, evangelization and pastoral care.
The Sister who, at the time of her Final Profession, expressed
the desire to respond to the call “ad gentes”, is now
encouraged to prepare herself adequately for this new
missionary mandate, as set out in the Resolutions of the XV
General Chapter 135 . These recommend “discernment,
135
Cf. XV General Chapter, Resolutions, n. 3, 22.
98
decision-making
process
and
formation,
including
contextualised formation in the receiving countries.”
Every Sister, who lives with a pilgrim heart, knows that the
goal of formation, conforming herself to the Great Exemplar,
can only be reached at the end of her existence by fidelity to
Grace.
Objectives
On-going formation is designed to consolidate the process of
growth of the Daughter of Charity towards the fullness of love
and makes her more and more flexible in learning from
experience. It also helps her to be more responsible for her
fidelity to the Gospel, to the vitality of the charism, to her
vocation, community and mission, always ready to face the
challenges which come with rapid socio-cultural change.
The most important concern of on-going formation is that of
strengthening in each one of us “docibilitas”, that is, the
continual willingness “to learn how to learn”, allowing
ourselves to be educated and formed by life and its
unpredictable situations while we journey in conformity to
Christ Crucified. For the Canossian Sister “docibilitas”
becomes the wisdom of the Cross.
After Final Profession we are called, with greater awareness,
to carry on the process of integration of our personal history so
as to recognise in it the formative action of God, ever present
and at work, even if not always so evident. Each person is a
‘mystery’ and because of this we never attain ‘total selfknowledge’ or attain it once and for all. It must be pursued, day
after day, in changing circumstances and in the revelation of
ever new aspects of one’s uniqueness, as they manifest
themselves in the different phases of life. This means building
and re-building one’s life and inner self around that vital and
meaningful centre which, for every Daughter of Charity, is the
Cross of Christ.
99
In this sense, every ordinary or extraordinary event is an
opportunity for our purification and growth and it makes our
whole life a process of continual conversion and of deepening
our charismatic identity.
On-Going Formation is above all grace that comes from on
high every day, a gift that is certain, at hand, infallible and
providential.136
Formative environments
There are two main charismatic places in which the on-going
formation of a Daughter of Charity takes place: the apostolic
community and the mission.
According to the charism handed down to us by our
Foundress, St. Magdalene of Canossa, we were born to be
apostolic communities in which the holiness of the members
comes about through the exercise of Charity towards God and
towards neighbour. It is drawn from the Heart of Jesus
Crucified and is to be lived with the same characteristics. It is a
love which, cultivated constantly within the community,
becomes effectively dynamic in the carrying out of the
Ministries of Charity. Every day, in these two places, each one
of us encounters opportunities to grow in the Greatest Love.

136
137
Apostolic community – The community is the
privileged place for formation at every stage of our life.
In it we find the means to live with authenticity the
journey of growth, “in the special imitation of Jesus
Christ Crucified who breathes nothing but charity.”137
It is God who, in order to implement His plan of love,
gathers together people of different ages, formation,
character, culture and experience, calling them to live
the same charism of Charity. Personal differences, far
Cf. Cencini, Formazione, 33.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 93.
100
from being an obstacle to growth, are instead
providentially a challenge and an incentive to overcome
our own limitations and to be ready to allow ourselves
to be educated and formed by the richness as well as
the poverty of other members.
In order to grow in community with the Sisters and
thanks to the Sisters, we are invited to be mutually
responsible for each other. If each one, in fact, is
responsible for her own personal formation, all of us
are asked to share the journey of maturation of our
companions and to support each other in a common
effort to be conformed to Christ Crucified.
Thus we become instruments in God’s formative
action. In the same way, all of us are co-responsible for
building up the community, for the dynamism of its
spiritual life, for its faithfulness to the Gospel and the
Charism, for the sense of communion lived by its
members, for creating a loving and welcoming
atmosphere and for the simplicity and joy experienced
within it. We are all invited in the same way to be
builders of communion and, without expecting a perfect
community, we remember what St. Magdalene states
that “any union, the most beautiful, holy, perfect, being
composed of human beings, that is, inconstant men
and women, necessarily within it one will find defects,
weaknesses, ignorance …”138. In fact, no community is
without difficulties, tensions and worries. The cross
makes us remember our Great Exemplar who through
it has saved us.
Within the community, the one who is called to carry
out the service of authority has the unique
responsibility of encouraging and nurturing the coresponsibility of her Sisters. It is the specific task of the
Superior, who is also called to take care of her own
138
Ibid, 94-95.
101
formation, to promote and activate all those community
means and occasions that support the sharing of
evangelical and charismatic values.
With this aim in mind she tries to promote a mentality of
faith and hope, and the practice of shared and
responsible obedience.
The Superior also promotes processes of dialogue in
various areas so as to reach a shared “wisdom of the
Cross”; she makes room for others’ dreams and
differences of opinion and, following the principle of
subsidiarity, she does not substitute the Sisters in
taking decisions which they can take for themselves.139

Mission – All the communities of the Daughters of
Charity are, by nature, apostolic and have in common
the mission par excellence; that is the mission of
putting into practice the Love contemplated in Christ
Crucified. Most of these exercise those ministries
proper to the Institute, identified by Magdalene as an
ever current response to the needs of people of all
times and throughout the span of their lives.
The ministries are places of real on-going formation in
which we dedicate ourselves to “imitate the Divine
Saviour by carrying out the second precept of
Charity.”140
In these ministries God reveals Himself to us in a
particular way so that within them we may live a special
and unique experience of God, just like Magdalene
who, while serving her beloved poor, met the same
Jesus whom she contemplated in prayer.
Dedication to our ministries offers us the opportunity to
live the virtues of Jesus on the cross: zeal, patience,
meekness, humility, gratuitousness and growth in the
139
140
Cf. XV General Chapter, Resolutions, 12-13.
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 43.
102
spirit of faith, contemplating the same face of Christ
Crucified in the people we serve.
Each one of us nurtures her vocation of Charity, giving
special attention to the poor, the disadvantaged, those
who are immigrants, young people who do not find
meaning in life and are deprived of values, those who
suffer because they do not have work, a home and a
dignified life.
We allow ourselves to be challenged by the people we
serve; challenged to “live as pilgrims, detached from
everything”141, and ready to be scattered “even to the
ends of the earth”142. In doing so, we will be able to
renew our humanity through relationships which are
marked by mutuality and a new understanding of the
Gospel.
As we dedicate ourselves to the ministry entrusted to
us, we are formed by interacting with the people we
serve and work with and we have the chance of giving
and receiving, and of being witnesses of the Greatest
Love. Working together with Sisters and lay people, we
are challenged to grow in the capacity to collaborate,
dialogue, evaluate ourselves, and become more
creative in identifying efficacious ways of making Jesus
known and loved.143
Moreover, our life in the local church and social
contacts in our apostolic service, are a reminder and a
stimulus us to become who we are called to be.
141
Magdalene, Epistolario III/4, 2735.
Magdalene, A Collection of Letters, III/1, 157.
143
Cf. Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 180.
142
103
Content and dimensions
The principal goal of the vocation of the Daughters of Charity Servants of the Poor consists in the fulfilment of the two great
precepts of Charity: to love God and our neighbour. As
Daughters we are called to love God “with all our heart, with all
our soul and with all our strength” (Dt. 6:5) and owe Him “a
reverent, tender, filial love and, as Servants of the Poor, owe
them our attention, labour, care and thoughts.”144
Our whole person, as Daughter and Servant, is called into
question and so our-going formation must lead us to concrete
actions in the two-fold direction of love for God and love for our
neighbour.
Each one of us is asked to deepen, throughout life, three
particular aspects.

Life in the Spirit – We have the primary duty to give
priority to our spiritual life, “to be well founded
interiorly”145 and to nurture a solid mentality of faith with
which to interpret every event of life. We are called to
keep our eyes fixed on Christ Crucified through fidelity
to daily meditation and contemplation, trying to
interiorize it to the point that everything is meaningless
without Him and His love. We search for Him
constantly in the Word of God so as to make our own
the values, attitudes and sentiments of the Son. We
measure ourselves on the Word to understand and
minimize the gap between what we are and what we
are called to be as Daughters of Charity. We daily
nurture ourselves with the Eucharist so as to learn the
lesson of love “without measure”146, and implement it in
self-giving and in our inter-personal relationships. Each
one of us values the Sacrament of Penance, fraternal
144
Ibid, 23.
Ibid, 204.
146
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, II, 182.
145
104
reconciliation and we “never let the sun set on our
anger.” (Eph. 4:26)
Remaining at the foot of the Cross, we try to
understand and love Mary more and more, discovering
in her the Mother who generates in us the Greatest
Love. It is, in fact, only the Mother of Jesus on the
Cross who can form us as disciples of the Crucified
One.
We must safeguard, with responsibility, the prolonged
times of prayer which the Rule of Life offers us; the
monthly day of recollection and the annual retreat. We
must find daily moments of silence in which we are
alone with God so as to grow in the wisdom of the
Cross.

The
missionary,
apostolic
and ministerial
dimension – Involved in the mission of the Church
and letting ourselves be urged on by the love of Christ
Crucified (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14), we place our gifts at the
disposal of the people we serve in the various
ministries and we question ourselves with regard to our
fidelity to the charism received. We recognise the need
to update the content and methods of our apostolate
both from the doctrinal and professional point of view.
We allow ourselves to be questioned by the various
challenges that history presents and we try to see what
is new within it so as to identify new ways of
responding.

The charismatic dimension – It is a gift to be called to
special conformity to Christ Crucified. Following the
example of Mary, Mother of Sorrows, each one of us
must try to pursue this charismatic aim, through
deepening its mystical, ascetical and apostolic aspects.
We constantly revive within ourselves the experience of
“God Alone” and the search for His Glory and, like St.
105
Magdalene we try to grow in the spirit of the Institute:
“to give up everything and be prepared to serve God,
going even to the remotest countries of the world.”147
For this reason we must responsibly study the
charismatic heritage of our Religious Family in order to
discover evermore its spirit; we re-visit with interest, the
Institute’s history of 200 years so that we allow
ourselves to be challenged and surprised by the
apostolic and missionary passion which characterizes
it. We return with joy to the sources of the charism of
the “Greatest Love”, in order to recognize in it our
identity and grow with gratitude in a sense of belonging
to the Canossian Family.
Ordinary Formation
Real on-going formation is that which takes place in our
everyday ordinary life. It consists in the readiness of the
Daughter of Charity to take advantage of every situation and
moment so as to reach the goal of every Canossian vocation:
conformity to Christ Crucified. Formation takes place in our
community and ministerial reality, precisely where the
Canossian Sister is called to live. Always and everywhere,
each one of us can find occasions for her own continuous
formation which is, before all else, her personal responsibility.
There is nothing in our daily experience which does not have a
formative influence: the house in which we live with its poverty
and richness, the mandate, more or less pleasant, we have
received, our relationship with individual Sisters with whom we
live in community. These are Sisters who have not chosen one
another but have been called by the Lord to follow Him in the
same Canossian Family. Other daily, formative situations are:
147
Magdalene, Epistolario, II/1, 266.
106
sharing and dialogue with the person who is called to mediate
God’s will in the community, daily unforeseen situations and
their demands for obedience, difficulties in work situations and
temporary ill health or more serious illness. Everything that life
presents is an occasion to live in conformity to Christ Crucified,
in carrying out and sharing His sentiments.
What really forms us is the awareness that whatever situation
we find ourselves in, it is always related to the goal at which
the Daughter of Charity is aiming. Whether we value things
with this formative perspective, depends on our free choice.
Called to live the Paschal Mystery of death and resurrection,
we can experience in all things both the struggle and the
victory over our selfishness, the difficulty and joy of a sacrifice
or a renunciation accepted for love. Even our failures and
limitations, and sin itself may be for us the place and the
opportunity for renewal and formation if lived in the search for
the Greatest Love hidden in the Heart of Christ Crucified.
Each one of us is responsible for this ordinary On-Going
Formation.
Extraordinary Formation
Extraordinary on-going formation is that which is offered to us
through participation in ministerial and pastoral refresher
courses, in Biblical or charismatic seminars, in study days of
cultural interest so as to understand today’s world and the new
generations. For us these are occasions of personal
enrichment and of renewal in zeal and enthusiasm for our life
and mission. Their aim is to revive in us love for the charism
and bringing about a renewed commitment in our journey of
conformity to Christ Crucified.
Participation in these moments is a gift that we must not keep
for ourselves, but share responsibly with the Sisters of our
community. These opportunities can also be used to
107
advantage for the good of the people we serve in our
ministries.
If extraordinary initiatives of updating and ministerial and
charismatic renewal are a precious contribution for on-going
formation, we must never forget that they would be of little help
if they are not sustained by the daily commitment to search for
the face of God alone, revealed in Jesus Crucified, in ordinary
life.
Superiors, at General and Provincial level, are particularly
responsible for the extraordinary on-going formation. It is their
task to organize and offer to the Sisters these important
moments and also to indicate valid initiatives that are available
outside the Institute and Province.
Each Sister is entrusted with the responsibility of identifying
and suggesting possible meaningful formative experiences,
which are in harmony with her own life choice and apostolic
mandate.
Specific Times
On-going formation evolves in time: understood not as a
succession of occasional facts and events, but a time
inhabited by God, a favourable time of salvation. Having said
that, time itself must also be considered as a succession of
phases of growth, each having its own different characteristics
that must be taken into account. Every period of life, from the
formative point of view, requires from the Daughter of Charity,
adult and mature commitment, patience and perseverance.
The Institute, for its part, is called to give careful attention to
the needs of each period of life, in order to offer proposals
which are both formative and suited to the sisters at that stage.
Times of trial: every phase of life has its own particular
beauty and also its difficulties and crises which may become,
for each of us, grace or weakness. Everything depends on the
108
interior attitude that we assume in the face of trial and the
perception we have of it. In this sense, it is necessary to
recognise the positive potential in trial, seeing it as an
important moment, an occasion for change and transformation
in the face of difficulty. The Daughter of Charity knows how to
joyfully accept the particular grace of every stage of life and
the inevitable passing of time. She accepts the changes that
this brings without grumbling or losing heart. In every phase of
life, however, there may be moments of difficulty,
disorientation, loss of meaning caused by external factors
(change of role, difficult obedience, change of community,
fatigue or apostolic failures etc.) or even personal factors
(problems of progressive adaptation to changed situations and
times of life, inter-personal relationships, spiritual aridity,
identity crisis, vocational journey, sickness, death in the
family).
When difficulties become acute we need to be supported in a
special way, both individually and as a community.
Besides the Superior or a Sister who is capable of
accompanying others, it is also useful to seek the help of a
suitable spiritual director or, where necessary, a specialist.
These people may help us to understand our difficulties and
find once again the motivations of our vocational choice. It is
possible to rediscover in the light of the Crucified Lord, the
invitation to allow ourselves to be loved, even through the trial
itself which, if on one hand, brings suffering and renunciation,
on the other, can make us free and open to search for the
essential. The struggle that the Sister suffers in this moment of
life, lived as a struggle with God, whose thoughts are not ours,
and accepted in faith and trust in Him, the merciful Father, can
open new horizons and become a means of greater
understanding of others and of apostolic fruitfulness.
In these times of crisis, the Canossian community is called to
be a welcoming “oasis”, where the Sister may feel supported
and surrounded by sincere understanding and sisterly
concern.
109
As a general rule, this kind of mediation is always desirable in
daily on-going formation.
It becomes indispensable for our communities to create an
atmosphere of attentiveness and discretion which is loving,
intelligent, vigilant, cautious and prudent. In this atmosphere,
the sister in crisis feels supported without being made to feel
guilty. This time can then become a possibility for growth
within the community. However, this way of relating should not
be considered as isolated and exceptional. It must be part of
that sort of attention and help that our Religious Family offers
to every Daughter of Charity and that is part of on-going
formation. In an environment like this, life is a journey of
constant formation where the main concern is that of keeping
the quality of our vocation and charismatic values high.
Therefore, the privileged means for facing a crisis is interpersonal relationships, which means the dedication of time
and energy, reserve, attention totally concentrated on the
other person, offering the sister the possibility and the time
needed to open up and express her feelings. Every Daughter
of Charity is thus responsible for the ‘care’ of the Sister in
difficulty and expresses attention and empathy.
A time of trial is a challenge to be welcomed as a grace for
conversion and growth.
Let us consider the meaningful stages which characterise the
journey of each Sister.
 The first five years after Final Profession: this time
marks a passage from guided formation to an experience of
greater personal responsibility for one’s spiritual,
community and apostolic life. During this experience the
Sister must learn how to organize her time and harmonise
the various commitments of prayer, community and
apostolic life.
She commits herself to discern, implement and evaluate
even through difficulties, the demands of consecration and
110
mission and to become more aware of her particular way of
being faithful to the Lord, and of her continuing growth as a
Daughter of Charity-Servant of the Poor, within the
community and ministries.
Once or twice a year, for five years, formative meetings of
prayer, reflection and dialogue are planned. These
meetings, where possible with experts and with Sisters rich
in experience, aim to help the newly Professed Sister to
acquire a greater capacity for integration, which is very
important for her growth. At the end of the first five years,
the Sister is a given a prolonged period of reflection in order
to review and evaluate the journey thus far. These group
experiences are led by an experienced guide and are
promoted by the Provincial Superior.
In the following years this experience is continued through
periodic and suitable proposals that come from the Sisters
themselves and are approved by the Provincial Superior.
 The first ten years after Final Profession: our
consecration, as time evolves, needs to be reviewed and
evaluated. In fact, “the understanding and living of the
Vows vary in the different stages of life. Life poses new
questions and new challenges are brought about by
historical and concrete living conditions. Our vowed life
must integrate these challenges and address the questions
in a holistic manner, creating a new story, avoiding
formalism and living an ever-renewed discipleship.”148
In fact, during this period of life one needs “something solid
which frees one from running around in circles or from
meaningless wandering (in search of something else).”149
One of the main tasks necessary in order to develop as a
person is the capacity to be generative150, that is, for every
148
XV General Chapter, Resolutions, 11.
A. Manenti, Vivere gli ideali/2, Bologna 2003, 117.
150
Cf. E.H. Erikson, Infanzia e società, Roma 1982, 249-250.
149
111
Daughter of Charity to have the ability to be concerned for
others, the willingness and capacity to use one’s gifts for
the well-being of others.
To overcome the tendency to use one’s own gifts in a
selfish way or as a protagonist, the temptation of routine
and autonomy, the decline of enthusiasm and joy, each one
of us is called to re-motivate herself and re-read her own
life in the light of the Gospel and charism. This will help her
to better understand the meaning of spiritual motherhood
open to the world and to be able to give new meaning to
the value of fraternity and mission.
With this in mind, the Provincial Superior offers a period of
time for further deepening and evaluation which may help
the Sister to recover her original choice and strengthen her
passion for the Kingdom, making her life more authentic.
For this an Ignatian month, a short sabbatical or a period of
charismatic renewal in one of the centres of the Institute,
are considered valid means.
 After twenty-five years from entrance: the journey made
so far may make the Sister feel deep within herself, both
unity of life and the sincere joy of belonging to the Institute.
It is right and fitting that each Sister has the possibility of
celebrating God’s fidelity in her life together with her
community and, if possible, with the Province to which she
belongs.
Normally, this phase brings about a new way of considering
former values and coincides with the descending curve of
life’s course. During this period physical and biological
changes take place and a new sense of time is
experienced.
This phase of life is also a time for taking stock concerning
one’s spiritual, affective, relational, ministerial and social
life. It is hoped that by this time the Sister has acquired an
awareness of the need to be well-balanced regarding these
112
different aspects of her life. The gift of self has helped her
to deepen ever more her spiritual fruitfulness and
motherhood, thus fulfilling herself as a consecrated woman
and being a help to all those to whom she is sent. Human
maturity and the wisdom of life, which become precious
aspects in community and apostolic relationships, come to
fruition in this period.
It is also possible that during this phase the Sister may
experience certain difficulties in an intense way, such as a
sense of loneliness, a decrease in spiritual enthusiasm, a
mistrust of whatever is “new”, individualism and lack of
appreciation for the community, etc.
Middle age could be a favourable time for living our daily
life well. In this way one comes to live ‘poverty as a gift’:
disappointments and failures become a spring board for a
new stage of life.
The central nucleus for a good quality of life in this phase
depends on a correct and life-giving relationship with daily
routine. Living the present means creating a unity of life
with one’s past, grateful and happy with the present, in
fidelity to a future looked upon with hope.151
This way of living does not produce anxiety, the need for
success, the guarantee of one’s image or power, but is
marked by a sense of peace. The Sister, who lives daily life
well, lives in peace.
Another evolving task of this stage is to prepare oneself for
a spirituality of aging: it is precisely in middle age that one
knows one’s own weakness through experience. If one
does not begin to accept aging in this period, then it will be
much more difficult to transform failures into opportunities,
in terms of spiritual growth and formation.
Cf. P. Magna – A. Pazzagli, La crisi dell’età di mezzo: il periodo di
menopausa nella donna, in Tredimensioni, 4 (2007), 162-173.
151
113
In this delicate and rich stage of life, we also have the
responsibility of strengthening our concern for our personal
growth, at the human and faith levels, through a
rediscovery of our love for Christ our Spouse, and of the gift
of ourselves for the mission. It becomes important to refocus on the deep motivations of one’s being and action
through special moments of prayer and reflection and the
rediscovery of the value of fraternity.
To re-motivate one’s gift and dedication to our brothers and
sisters, the Institute recognises the importance of offering
sabbaticals (three months, six months or a year). These
opportunities are proposed by the Provincial Superior in
dialogue with the Sister, in collaboration with a formative
team which elaborates times and contents.
 Late adulthood: This period of life often coincides with the
50th anniversary of entrance into religious life. It is an
occasion to celebrate God’s fidelity and to decide to make
of one’s life an everlasting hymn of praise.
The Sister, still energetic and rich in experience, is usually
called to leave to others the activity she has carried out
with zeal for many years. Obedience may entrust her with
new tasks, as precious as the former, but normally limited
to the community and with a less intense rhythm. During
this delicate time, the Sister is supported by various
formative experiences, for example, participating in
conferences, seminars or courses, so that she may
understand deeply the meaning of the Paschal Mystery in
her life and re-discover within herself a motherhood in the
Spirit which bears much fruit for the Kingdom.
During this delicate phase, as part of the normal evolution
of on-going formation, it is important for the Sister to rethink
and renew her self-image which permits her to relate
correctly with herself, others and her environment.
114
Another evolving task of this period of life is that of reorganising creatively one’s own time, space, commitments
and interests. It involves trying out new and do-able, small
projects, setting out the goals to be attained; discovering
possibilities and values which this new phase of life offers.
Sharing some of one’s own personal story and life
experiences, may be a resource for the community. This
makes the person who is mature in her faith, the
protagonist of the story of her love interwoven with the God
encountered in Christ Crucified. Story-telling like this - the
sharing of one’s sentiments, projects and dreams realised,
becomes, within the community a privileged moment for
gratitude and communion and a stimulus for the Sisters
who listen to make a personal reflection, valuing new
aspects, perhaps, never thought of.

Advanced age is a special time of life and is a particular
occasion of formation that requires special preparation.
Advanced age is not an illness but brings with it a
decrease in strength and even the weakening of one’s
ability to live in community and to give of self.
Advanced age brings fragility because one is more
vulnerable to illness and infirmity and is exposed to the
inevitable solitude of this period.
There are different types of fragility: physical, mental,
relational, emotional, social, spiritual etc.
Even fragility, however, may become a resource for each
Daughter of Charity. When a person is valued for who she
really is, regardless of age and the illnesses that restrict
her, she is able to draw from the storehouse of her
experience. She shares her wisdom and values the present
moment without always regretting the past. She looks
ahead, taking delight in the reality which surrounds her and
spreads the joy of living. She is able to accept, even with
115
some difficulty, the inevitable ailments caused by physical
decline.
She also becomes a gift for our Religious Family, when she
participates and sustains with prayer the Sisters directly
involved in our ministries, nurtures her interest for God’s
Kingdom in the world, dedicates time to her life in the Spirit,
savours the consoling experience of a new intimacy with
God alone, dedicates herself, if possible, to reading, and
offers herself joyfully to help in small but precious services
within the community, keeps company to an elderly person
or a sick Sister, pursues a hobby, takes part in parish
activities etc.
Each of us must prepare herself for the later years and still
be a credible witness of God’s fidelity. We must allow
ourselves to be loved, to depend on others and let them
help us knowing that the value of our life of consecration is
not tied to productive efficiency but to our being
consecrated Canossians.
The community, asked to consider the elderly Sisters as
“mountains of gems” 152, has recourse to their wisdom by
involving them, where possible, in the dynamic activities of
the community. It helps them to feel that their lives are
precious, it appreciates their witness of faith, serene hope
and rich humanity open to all.
When life becomes marked by suffering because of illness
or forced inactivity, it is then that the Daughter of Charity
must be helped to see this situation as highly formative and
to consider it as “a unique occasion for allowing herself to
be penetrated by the Paschal Mystery”153. This final phase
of life is the real ‘novitiate’, the most realistic and true, so
true that identification with Christ Crucified is manifest even
in the body.
152
153
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 98.
CICLSAL, Directives on Formation i n Religious Institutes, 1990 n. 70e.
116
The whole of one’s life is like a preparation to enter this
‘novitiate’ with complete ‘docibilitas’!
Just like Simeon who had reached the last years of life, so
too, the Daughter of Charity abandons herself into God’s
hands, uniting herself to Christ’s sacrificial obedience on
the Cross.
The moment of death, which is the real gift of self in perfect
obedience to the Father 154 , brings to completion the
formative journey and brings the Sister to total conformity to
Christ Crucified, “the only, infinite and supreme good.”155.
The passing of a Sister to the Father’s house is a formative
moment for the community in understanding once again the
value and precariousness of life. It is an occasion that
unites the Sisters in prayer and sisterly communion.
The community continues to remember the Sisters in prayer
so as to “hasten, as much as possible, the holy vision of the
Lord, considering them to be those with whom they will
share eternal happiness one day.”156
154
Magdalene, Regole e Scritti, I, 30.
Ibid, 172.
156
Ibid, 100.
155
117
CONCLUSION
Formation, Initial and On-Going, is not a question of quantity
or accumulation of content, but of quality and synthesis,
unification, self-awareness and relationships. The outcome of
Formation is, in fact, the capacity to live ‘docibilitas’ in every
phase of life, in every existential situation and event, learning
the truth about oneself, interior freedom, openness to dialogue
and listening, sensitivity to the differences between people,
zeal for mission, wisdom, humility, meekness gratuitousness,
amiability.
Formation is thus necessary for the whole of life; it is never
complete and is always a great challenge for consecrated life.
For us, Daughters of Charity, Formation means keeping alive
a particular memory of God’s Love for every man and woman
on earth. It is a call renewed each day to take on the same
sentiments of the Son, to identify ourselves with Him who, on
the Cross “was stripped of everything except His Love”157. It is
a constant invitation to become human like Him, to give
ourselves, like Him, to live like Him in a boundless availability
to the Love of the Father for the salvation of every person,
157
Ibid, 34.
118
especially those most deprived of education, evangelization
and assistance.
The gift of the Spirit which both St. Magdalene and we have
received is the very same Love of God that shone in a special
way on Calvary. Formation accompanies us in our quest for
fidelity to God’s gift and sustains our continual growth, our
never-ending transformation into the likeness of the Lord
Jesus, so that many may ‘see’ Him, know Him and love Him
and become like Him in order to communicate Him to others.
Formation is a sacred process which challenges and involves
us personally: it is the secret between us and the Spirit who
grows in the depths of our hearts and changes our lives into a
gift for everyone. No one can take our place in this.
It is the fruit of a greater awareness of Him, of His Love, and of
ourselves before Him so that we may become continually
daughters of the Father, Disciples of Christ, moved by the
Spirit and like Mary, our Mother of Sorrows, mothers of the
whole of humanity.
119
INDEX
Page
Presentation
Introduction: Our Institute and Formation
The Plan of Formation of the Daughters of Charity, Servant of the
Poor
5
8
Significance
Criteria
Persons in formation
11
11
12
PART ONE
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF CANOSSIAN FORMATION
Goal of formation
Sources
The Word of God
The Magisterium of the Church
The charism of the Institute
Life: the history and culture
Agents of formation
God Alone
Christ Crucified
Our Lady of Sorrows
Every Sister
Mediations of formation
The whole Institute
The Superior General
The Provincial Superior
The Provincial Formative Team
The Canossian Community
The Sisters who are Formators
Content
Mystical experience
Ascetical journey
Mission
13
15
16
17
1
8
19
20
21
21
22
22
23
23
23
24
26
26
27
29
31
120
Sense of identity and belonging
Guiding criteria for Canossian formation
Human formation
Spiritual formation
Charismatic formation
Community formation
Apostolic formation
PART TWO
STAGES OF CANOSSIAN FORMATIVE JOURNEY:
from the beginning to the final gift of self
PASTORAL CARE OF VOCATIONS
Meaning and aim
Those responsible
The Canossian community
Every Sister
The Sisters who are involved
The lay people
Young people
Formative environments
Evaluation
32
34
35
35
36
36
36
38
41
43
44
44
45
45
46
46
INITIAL FORMATION:
Vocational Discernment and Accompaniment
Significance and objective
Content
Modality
Evaluation
48
50
50
51
PRE-NOVITIATE
Significance and objective
Persons in formation
Content
The human dimension
The social dimension
The spiritual dimension
The charismatic dimension
52
53
54
55
55
56
121
The apostolic dimension
Formative environments
The formative community
Attending Biblical and Theological courses
Modality
Evaluation
Moving on to the Novitiate
56
57
57
58
58
58
60
NOVITIATE
Significance and objective
Persons in formation
Objectives
Content
The human dimension
The spiritual dimension
The charismatic dimension
The communitarian dimension
The apostolic-missionary dimension
Formative environments
The formative community of the Novitiate
The apostolic community
Inter-Congregational formative programmes
Formative meetings with Junior Sisters
Other significant and specific experiences
Modality
Evaluation
First Profession
61
62
62
63
64
64
67
67
68
70
71
71
71
71
72
74
JUNIORATE
Significance and aim
Persons in formation
Pedagogy of the Greatest Love
Formatives areas and content
“God Alone” in Christ Crucified
Mystical experience
Ascetical journey: Vows
75
76
77
78
78
78
80
122
Poverty
Obedience
Chastity
Affective area
Intellectual area
Apostolic mission
Sense of identity and belonging
Formative environment
The apostolic-formative community
Modality
Specific times
FINAL PROFESSION
Significance and aim
Criteria of admission
Immediate preparation for Final Profession
ON-GOING FORMATION
Significance and aim
Persons in formation
Objectives
Formative environments
Apostolic community
Mission
Content and dimensions
Life in the Spirit
The missionary, apostolic and ministerial dimension
The charismatic dimension
Ordinary formation
Extraordinary formation
Specific times
Times of trial
The first five years after Final Profession
The first ten years after Final Profession
After twenty-five years from entrance
Late adulthood
80
81
82
83
84
86
88
89
92
93
94
95
97
99
100
101
102
102
104
106
106
107
107
108
109
110
110
112
113
114
116
123
Advanced age
Conclusion
Index
117
120
122
124
125