Formation Ministry
PROGRAMS OF FORMATION OF THE MEMBERS IN ALL STAGES
We aim as an Institute “to know, love and serve God in His Church, His world today, following the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Jesus is our inspiration, model and source of strength in our life and Mission: TO REACH OUT WITH COMPASSION TO THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED.
Our Vocation is: “To contemplate God in Prayer and share the fruits of our Contemplation with others through our Apostolate. Formation being the heart of the Institute, its primary objective is to prepare people for total Consecration to God, in following Christ at the service of the Church’s Mission. It is aimed at the transformation of the whole person in every aspect of the personality, in behavior and intention. The Formation Programs are geared in assisting and enabling every member of the Institute to Know, Love and deepen their relationship with Christ in order to live their Consecration to God in all its fullness according to the Spirit, Vision, Charism and Mission of the Institute
- Human Formation
- Christian Formation
- Spiritual Formation
- Religious Formation
- Franciscan Spirituality Formation
- Apostolic Life
TRAINING PROGRAM:
Candidates must be young women over 18 years of age, of good health, and mature enough to be able to make a free choice and a minimal education of C+ in K.C.S.E or “O” Level with 36 points or aggregates. But this may change from Country to Country depending on their Government policies. The Initial Formation is Four Stages. Candidacy is one year, Postulancy one Year, and the Novitiate two years. We welcome young Catholic women, 18 – 30 years of age, of good health and with sincere desire to Love and Serve God, and ready to share a common life in Community.
“IS GOD CALLING YOU? Do you have a desire to share the Love of God with others? Do you feel called to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis and Mother Mary Kevin as close followers of Jesus Christ? Are you challenged to join in our struggle so that together we can bring about a better world? If your answer to these questions is YES, Please contact us on the following addresses:”
CONTACT ADDRESSES:
Vocation Animator, St. Anthony Novitiate
P.O. 57, Nkokonjeru- Uganda
Vocation Animator St. Francis Center
P.O. Box 62676-00200, Nairobi – Kenya
Vocation Animator Little Sisters of St. Francis
P.O. Box 348-20100, Nakuru – Kenya
Vocation Animator,
P. O. Box 222 Same – Tanzania
Vocation Animator, Regional House WORV Region
P.O. Box 1769-50200, Bungoma – Kenya
St. Joseph Formation House
P.O. Box 11, Pallisa – Uganda
May God bless you as you pray, Discern and make your choice to Love and Serve Him in the Religious Life
PROGRAM OF FORMATION FOR ASPIRANTS: (INITIAL FORMATION)
The Purpose of this period is:
- To have effective recruitment
- To know the Aspirant well before she joins
- To know her family background
- To deepen her Christian life
- To understand and determine the motives, maturity and suitability of the aspirant
- To discern with the Aspirant about her choice for joining Little Sisters of St. Francis.
PROGRAM OF FORMATION FOR CANDIDATES:
The purpose of this stage is:
- To enable the Candidate and the Institute to know each other
- To establish a trustful relationship which allows the Formation to accompany the young person in:
- Realizing her call in life
- Discovering the action of the Holy Spirit in her life
- Deepening self-awareness as a woman and a Christian
- To understand the different Vocations.
Below are the current postulants and their formations at Pallisa Formation House.
PROGRAM OF FORMATION FOR POSTULANTS:
The Purpose is to help the Postulant to grow and deepen her human and Christian maturity, thus enabling her to make a responsible, conscious, personal, informed and free choice between married and Religious Life
The Postulant will be helped to become aware of what God is doing in her life. Through prayer, reflection and study of Christian Doctrine, she will be led to know and enter into a growing relationship with God.
NOVITIATE FORMATION PROGRAM:
The Novitiate will last for a period of two years, the first being Canonical year spent exclusively in the Novitiate house. In the second year the Novice will be trained in more practical skills and be helped to combine her life of prayer with her apostolate in and outside the Novitiate house. The purpose of this period is to teach the Novice how to integrate her prayer life, the apostolic life and Community life. The Novitiate is the beginning of a Life-long Formation.
The purpose of this stage is:
- To initiate the Novice into the Religious life.
- To accompany the Novice as she deepens her personal relationship with the Lord from whom she will learn to love others in Community
- To help her make an authentic and unconditional commitment to God according to the Evangelical Counsels of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience.
- To learn and live the spirit and the Charism of the Institute of the Little Sisters of St. Francis for the Mission
- To help her deepen the knowledge of herself, of Jesus Christ and of the Institute
- To accompany her in a further discernment for her vocation so as to make a new choice
- To help the Novice learn to be creative, develop a sense of initiative and responsibility.
PROGRAM FOR THE TEMPORARY PROFESSED SISTERS: By Religious profession members make a public vow to observe the three Evangelical Counsels. Through the ministry of the Church they are consecrated to God and are incorporated to the Institute, with the rights and duties defined by the Constitutions (cf Can. 654). The purpose of this period is:
- To ensure the continuity of the formation program from the Novitiate
- To deepen, develop and integrate the formation given at earlier stages
- To assist and support the temporary professed sisters on their On-going conversion, growth and witness in their lives.
- To prepare them for the apostolic life as Little Sisters of St. Francis.
PROGRAM FOR THE PERPETUALLY PROFESSED SISTERS:
On-going Formation of all members in the Institute is to help us to lead the life proper to the Institute more fully and be faithful to our Franciscan Charism and Mission. Whatever study is involved in the process of on-going formation must be primarily oriented to allowing the Holy Spirit to make us into Christ-like apostles. The purpose of this stage is:
- To give continuous awareness of the reality of our life as women and consecrated persons
- To renew and revitalize our relationship with self, others and God.
- To deepen Sisters’ Spiritual, Intellectual, emotional and apostolic life.
As Franciscans we are committed to contemplation of the crucified Christ. By this contemplation we learn to surrender ourselves continually to the will of the Father. Through a life-long practice of uniting and confirming ourselves to Jesus in all things, we shall learn to look on death as our Passover with Christ from this world to the Father.
By entering into the mystery of suffering and death with those whom we love, we shall prepare for our own death. Then, uniting ourselves to Christ in His suffering, we shall have the consolation and the hope of being able to know JESUS and be with Him in His Resurrection.
HOW TO BE COME A SR
