“Dear young people, being called by name is a sign of our great dignity in the eyes of God, of His predilection for us. God calls each of you by name. All of you are the “you” of God, precious in His eyes, worthy of respect and love (Isiah 43:4). Welcome with joy this dialogue that God offers to you, this appeal that He addresses to you by calling you by name.” (Thursday, February 22, 2018 In the World Youth Day message of March 25).

The vocation to the religious life of the Daughters of Divine Providence, like any other vocation, is a gift of God, but it is recognized normally by human mediations and its specific characteristics.

The Formation Period:

The initial formation in our religious family is structured in the following stages:

Vocational Orientation

Jesus’ invitation: “Come and see” leads to discover the fascination of His person and the beauty of total self-giving for the Kingdom of God.

The main objective of this stage is to help the young woman to identify the gifts which she has , to deepen her understanding of baptismal promises, to increase the knowledge of the congregation history, the spiritual and apostolic characteristics of our religious family, so that she can decide to become part of it responsibly and freely.

Pre-Novitiate

It is the preparatory stage for the novitiate, in which the candidates who aspires to religious life in our institute lives her faith with more conviction. Intensifying her formation and personal relationship with the Lord in prayer, in order to achieve the gradual detachment necessary for following Christ and to accept the commitments of the consecrated life with serenity and freedom, which leads to the joy of having found a treasure (Mt.13.44)

Novitiate

The novitiate is the initiation into religious life in our institute. Its main purpose is to form the minds and the hearts of the novice for the commitments of consecrated life, through a deep transforming experience of the love of Christ and by sharing the lifestyle of the Daughters of Divine Providence in view of a first commitment.

Juniorate

With the first profession, the last stage of initial formation begins, which allows the young religious to deepen and further verify her vocation and her aptitude to live fully the life and mission of the Institute. The young professed enters community life with an attitude of availability recognizing it as a normal place of growth and continuity in her formative process.

Ongoing Formation

Ongoing formation completes the journey of conversion that begun in initial formation, as we live out our religious profession, in order to conserve the youthfulness of the Spirit that endures through time. To continue ongoing formation, we take up our responsibility with sincerity and generosity; we commit ourselves to verify how we use the gifts that the Lord has given us and the availability to be an instrument of providence in His hands.

God our Father,
we give you thanks for the gifts of wisdom and
of love that you offered to your Church
and to whole humanity, through our history
of Daughters of Divine Providence.
Look at us again, so that,
as Mother Elena Bettini,
we know how to undertake new paths
that you open to the Gospel of Providence.
With the breath of your Spirit,
enlighten the intelligence, strengthen the will
and open the hearts of many young people,
because, attracted by Christ,
poor, obedient and chaste,
comprehend the beauty and the urgency
to reveal to everyone
His face of Son abandoned to the Father.
Mary, Mother of Divine Providence,
teach us to communicate to the world that God
is Father, is Providence and is Love for every creature.
Amen