December 23, 2025
Dear Members, Collaborators, and Friends,
Religious life has always adapted to the signs of the times. As Pope Francis observed, “We are not living in an era of change but a change of era.” Today’s reality presents both challenges and opportunities, calling us to discern together, listen for the Spirit’s guidance, and remain faithful to the vowed life.
In the spirit of synodal collaboration, the Congregation of Alexian Brothers and the Conference invite those interested to a beginning conversation on what an inter-congregational novitiate for male religious in the U.S. might look like.
For a variety of reasons, it has become increasingly difficult for religious communities to sustain their own initial formation programs. The number of men entering religious life, combined with the desire to form candidates in a truly communal context enriched by diversity of experience and background, has made comprehensive in-house formation tough for many congregations.
This reality is further compounded by the diminishing number of vowed members, increasing the responsibilities by those who remain. In many communities, formators hold significant ministerial, leadership, and/or administrative roles in addition to their duties in initial formation. As a result, they may not have the time, energy, or structural support needed to be fully present to the formative process.
Additionally, the demands placed on formators continue to grow. Quality formation requires intentional attention to all four dimensions:
- spiritual grounding and deepening,
- relational and affective maturity,
- intellectual formation in theology and culture, and
- intercultural competence for mission in a diverse Church.
Providing the time, training, personnel, and environment necessary to cultivate these areas—within the rhythm and responsibilities of congregational life—can be challenging. Communities must also manage program finances, curriculum development, charism formation, and other key logistics to ensure a holistic and healthy novitiate experience.
In this pivotal moment for religious life, we invite those entrusted with the formation of male religious to a conversation that names the challenges and gifts of the present and discerns boldly the possibilities that lie ahead. What collaborations, structures and processes will best facilitate the sustainability and effectiveness of quality novitiate programs?
The Conference has pioneered these types of programs in the past, convening stakeholders to dream, discern, and plan the future together. The InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN), a shared novitiate for women religious, for example, has operated the last 4 years and recently completed an outside evaluation of inter-congregational approaches to initial formation. The assessment’s learnings and best practices, resources and recommendations could inform and strengthen a similar program for men religious.
If you feel called to take part in this exploration, we invite you to join us for an online conversation on Tuesday evening, February 17th from 5:30-6:30pm central (Chicago) time.
Click here to register and receive information on how to join the meeting.
As we journey through Christmas, and the promise of new beginnings in 2026, let us keep one another—and those we accompany—in prayer.
Sincerely,
Ryan J. Hoffmann, DMin
Executive Director | Religious Formation Conference
Brother Tom Klein, CFA
Provincial | Alexian Brothers