Living alongside

Being an Oblate

Oblates are lay people or priests who make annual vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience. They have a close association with the Community, while lving out their vows in the normal circumstances of wherever they may live. For information contact Fr Thomas tseville{at}mirfield.org.uk

For other ways of being associated with the Community see the COMPANIONS page

Permanent membership of the Community

If you want to explore the possibility of permanent commitment in the Community, that could start with an informal visit. There is no rigid pattern for the next stage of the process of descernment, but there would usually be several further visits in which you would learn something about our life and take part in a way that helps you gain a feel for it

In due course, if we thoughjt it right for you to test your vocation, you would come into residence as a Postulant. The postulancy normally lasts 4 months. The next stage, if it seems right to continue, would be to become a Novice. Novices receive a thorough induction ino the life, with other training appropriate to their gifts and previous experience. In the old days they were expected to be seen and not heard: times have changed, and we expect a novice to take a mature part in most levels of the Community life. While the novitiate is an apprenticeship with much to learn and un-learn, novices need to be able to relate to others in the Community as an equal.

The Novitiate normally lasts about two and a half years. At the end of that the novice either goes forward to make Simple Vows or he leaves. The period in Simple Vows is normally three years, at the end of which come the Solemn Vows, when the brother promises to live in the Community for life. If the brother does not wish to go forward to Solemn Vows, or if the Community's Chapter is not of that view an extension for a specific period may be possible, but otherwise he will leave. Click here to learn more about The Vows.

Discerning the will of Christ