Formation

In our Catholic tradition when we talk of preparing people to share more effectively in the mission of Jesus we speak of ‘formation’. Formation is much more than  training or education because it is about the internalisation of values, attitudes and ways of seeing and the maturing of faith.

Part of what enables Jesuits to be ready to respond to any area of need is the process of formation that each Jesuit goes through before entering full-time into ministry. It begins with two years in novitiate, then continues through studies that prepare them for their ministry as a priest or brother. The formation continues even after Jesuits begin active ministry. Each Jesuit is urged to keep learning and growing in order to respond to the requirements of our mission and the challenges of today's world.

Fr Pedro Arrupe wrote that today's challenges 'oblige us to reflect as much on the world as on ourselves so as to know how we can change ourselves and update our knowledge, our attitudes and our apostolic methods in order to rise up to our vocation.'

As lay people take on roles in Jesuit ministries, formation has become important for them as well. Alongside formation programs within each ministry, the Loyola Institute has a particular mandate to provide leadership and faith development programs, including a Province-wide induction program for all staff.

Apart from Jesuits and our companions in ministry, others also benefit from Ignatian formation The Centres of Ignatian Spirituality offer short courses and a range of opportunities to experience the Spiritual Exercises. Also, Jesuit Theological College has established itself as a centre for theological study in Australia, as one of the three constituent colleges of the United Faculty of Theology (UFT).

Jesuit vocations

Vocations Coordinator
Fr Edward Dooley SJ
www.jesuitvocation.org.au

Theology

Jesuit Theological College
Jesuit Theological College is both an academic centre and a community of members of the Society of Jesus. It is part of the United Faculty of Theology (UFT), which is in turn part of the Melbourne College of Divinity (MCD), which offers tertiary qualifications recognised by the Australian Government.
www.jtc.edu.au

Mission formation

Loyola Institute
The Loyola Institute is a centre of formation for mission and leadership. It researches and develops formation programs, processes and materials aimed at helping people to integrate Ignatian spirituality into their life and work.
www.loyola.org.au

Centres of Ignatian Spirituality
The Centres of Ignatian Spirituality offer opportunities for people to journey down the same path Ignatius first took centuries ago. It is a pilgrim's path, a way that respects each one's life journey, but profoundly challenges the pilgrim to hear, to decide and to journey onwards with Jesus.
List of Centres of Ignatian Spirituality

Institute for Christian Spirituality and Pastoral Formation
ICSPF offers graduate courses to form spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition and givers of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. ICSPF is part of the Melbourne College of Divinity (MCD).
www.icspf.edu.au