Ordination

The habit can be given at the beginning of the novitiate or during it, according to the decision of the provincial chapter.

1. The declarations mentioned in the appendix shall be made in the presence of witnesses to candidates who have been admitted to the Order; this shall be recorded in the book of admissions, and signed by the candidates themselves. (see Appendix, n.5).
2. A declaration shall be made to candidates that they can claim no remuneration for any work done for the Order; a document recording this shall be drawn up and signed by the aspirant.
   (see Appendix n.5).
3. Before beginning the novitiate, the aspirant shall free himself from all business interests; any money or other possessions he may have brought with him shall be kept safely by the community. Should he leave the Order before making profession, these shall be returned to him.
4. Each province shall decide how the costs of formation are to be met.

Each province shall determine in its own statute how the examination is to be carried out and by which brothers.

The right of examining and admitting candidates to the novitiate belongs to the province. A special committee of brothers with a president shall be appointed to carry out the aforesaid examination.

Before anyone is admitted to the novitiate, superiors are obliged to obtain all those documents required by law, and any other information they may consider useful or necessary.

1. Clerical aspirants shall not be admitted to the novitiate unless they have completed those studies required in their own country for admission to higher or university studies.
2. They ought to have a suitable knowledge of Latin, or set about acquiring it as soon as possible.
3. Cooperator brothers should have secondary education or its equivalent, as decided by the provincial chapter.

1. Where appropriate, aspirants Aspirants should be prepared for some time before being admitted to the novitiate.
2. The duration, form and place of this preparation shall be decided by the provincial chapter, or the prior provincial with his council.
3. For this purpose, the province may establish a time of pre-novitiate as the first step on the journey towards the religious life. The aim of this is to prepare the aspirant for the novitiate especially through catechetical instruction, and provide an experience of living community life. It also gives the Order an opportunity to discern the aspirant’s suitability for Dominican life.

1. Wherever appropriate, an apostolic school for the formation of young aspirants may be established. The project must have the prior approval of the Master of the Order, and the consent of the chapter or council of the province.
2. The provincial with his council shall see to it that brothers with experience in these matters draw up the school’s statutes and rules of conduct, to be approved by the provincial with his council.

There shall be a Ratio Formationis for the whole Order, approved by the general chapter or by the Master of the Order, and revised from time to time. It should lay down general spiritual principles and basic training norms for forming the brothers, leaving the provinces to develop their own norms as time and place demand.

In convents of formation, genuine fraternal common life ought to flourish so that those in formation can gradually take an active part in community life, always respecting the various groupings within the community. This will lead to a formation that is solid and complete. Accordingly, all the brothers ought to bear in mind their responsibility for the formation of the younger brothers.