Discerning the Call …
Becoming a Sister at St. Mary of the Springs …

So what is the process once a woman decides to begin the formal process of discernment with St. Mary of the Springs?

• Initial Contact – interviews and meetings with Sisters from various Orders to determine where you are comfortable and the environment that matches the prospect’s gifts.
• Discernment – 9-12 months of active listening with a discerning heart and discernment meetings with the Vocation Minister.
• Application – autobiography, faith development, background checks, letters of recommendation, physical and psychological exams.
• Candidacy – 1 to 2 years; candidate moves into the local community of Sisters to learn, work, pray, and share with individualized academic and spiritual preparation.
• 1st Year Novice/Collaborative Novitiate – 10 months in St. Louis with women from 22 congregations typically 4-10 novices; deepening relationship with Christ, getting to know oneself better, service, reflection, and prayer in a small community.
• 2nd Year Novice – a year of integration spent practicing and living the Dominican life studied during the first year novitiate.
• 1st Vows – after the two year novitiate, one professes temporary vows for a period of three years.
• Perpetual Profession – final vows; a lifetime commitment to Religious life.