For potential applicants, the first point of enquiry is the Vocations Director (see above), who can meet with them regularly — usually over the course of a year — to answer their questions. This is an initial time of discernment for both the Applicant and the Congregation, as they seek God’s Will together.

The novitiate is the real introduction to religious life, and the time of preparation for First Profession. It is, in a sense, an extended retreat. During the year of novitiate, the day is shaped by the traditional activities of prayer (liturgical and personal), work and study. This is a time of progressively deepening our relationship with Christ and our sense of being called by him to the Passionist life. Novices receive further instruction on prayer and spirituality, the Passionist Charism, the Passion in Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, and the meaning of the Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience and the Passionist Vow to contemplate and proclaim the memory of the Passion of Jesus. Human formation is also an essential dimension of the preparation for taking religious vows.

The period of initial formation continues until Perpetual (Final) Profession and, for clerical candidates, Ordination to the Priesthood. Professed Passionist students study Philosophy, Theology, Scripture, Spirituality and any other subjects needed for their future ministry in the community. Like the earlier stages, the post-novitiate formation takes place within the context of Passionist community life.