Jesuits to Consolidate Five North American Novitiates Into Two by 2028

The Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, will consolidate its five novitiate programs in the United States and Canada into two, starting in 2028. The decision was announced July 9 in a letter to members of the religious order signed by the leaders of the five Jesuit provinces in North America. One of the new novitiates will be at Lansing-Reilly Hall on the campus of the University of Detroit Mercy, and the second will be in Culver City, California.

The Detroit novitiate will take novices from the Midwest Province, based in Chicago, along with those from the USA East Province and the Canada Province. The Culver City novitiate will house novices from the West Province and from the USA Central and Southern Province. The order's leaders call the new arrangement a "multi-province" model, intended to "maintain robust cohorts of novices and provide them with the best possible formators."

Both novitiates are designed to hold up to 30 novices each and are expected to open by the summer of 2028. Jesuit Father Joseph Daoust, superior of the Jesuit community in Detroit, said the restructuring will give each location enough novices for a suitable formation experience and free other members of the order for other work. "Running five novitiates takes a lot of very talented Jesuit manpower," Daoust said.

Daoust said the number of novices entering the five current novitiates varies considerably from year to year, ranging from one to twelve new novices annually. The consolidation will let the Jesuits keep steady numbers at the two new novitiates and move novices between them as needed.

During the first two years of religious formation, novices immerse themselves in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a process that ends with the possibility of taking permanent vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Novices take part in a 30-day silent retreat, apostolic immersions in Jesuit ministries around the country and the world, and study of the Jesuit constitutions and Ignatian spirituality.

Lansing-Reilly Hall, built between 1926 and 1927, was one of the first buildings on the University of Detroit Mercy campus. Among the advantages of moving the novitiate to Detroit, Daoust cited the Jesuit presence in the city, which includes the University of Detroit Mercy, University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Loyola School, Gesu Parish, Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, the Manresa Retreat Center and the Pope Francis Center and housing facilities. "It's a real gift to have all these Jesuit experiences nearby to show novices what Jesuit ministry looks like," he said.

Minor changes will be made to Lansing-Reilly Hall to accommodate 30 novices and staff, including converting double rooms to singles and small plumbing and electrical updates to the century-old building. The 18 Jesuits currently living in Lansing-Reilly Hall are arranging to move to other Jesuit residences nearby.

The move of the novitiate to Detroit coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Jesuits in the city, which will be marked July 31, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Detroit. "The Mass is an opportunity for the Jesuits to express gratitude for being able to be in ministry in Detroit," Daoust said, adding that the city has shown resilience despite its problems.

"I think it will be a much richer experience for the novices in their first two years, because there will be a larger and more consistent community of novices, and the exchange among the different provinces will also be enriching," Daoust said.