Become Salesian

It takes a time of research, reflection, and prayer, called a time of discernment, to find out if the Lord is calling you to become a Salesian. This work is done with the help of a spiritual guide. When a young person feels God’s call to become a Salesian in order to dedicate themselves to God and to young people, they must then follow a formation process that will enable them to experience the Salesian vocation. It is a question of forming oneself to become a Salesian with an attitude of faith, love, and hope.

Basic training, known as “initial training”, involves various stages of discernment and commitment.

1. Prenovitiate

This step is an immediate preparation for the novitiate, which lasts one school year. The pre-novitiate house of formation is in Porto-Novo in Benin.

2. Noviciate

Its purpose is to initiate the young person who enters into Salesian life by helping him or her to integrate and take on the various aspects of Salesian life. The novitiate lasts a whole year. Our province currently has two novitiates: one in Gbodjomé, near Lomé (Togo) for French-speaking novices and the other in Sunyani (in western Ghana) for English-speaking novices. This stage ends with the first religious commitment known as the “religious profession”, the core of which is made up of the vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity.

3. Post-novitiate

This is the maturing phase of the Salesian religious life to which one is committed by a religious profession at the end of the novitiate. The post-novitiate lasts three years during which time, philosophy and human sciences are studied. It takes place in Lomé (Togo).

4. Practical training

This step, which takes place in one of the communities of the province, allows you to experience the Salesian mission in all its method and demands.

5. Specific training

This step is divided into two parts, depending on whether the young Salesian is a coadjutor (brother) or a candidate for the priesthood.

• Specific formation of the Salesian Brother: This step consists of the formation of the Salesian Brother to prepare him for the definitive commitment (perpetual profession). The training consists of a specialization in religious sciences. It takes place in Yaoundé (Cameroon) and lasts two years. After that, he begins his specialization for the mission.
• Specific formation of the Salesian Priest: Training lasts four years and takes place in Yaoundé (Cameroon). During their theological studies, Salesians also prepare for their definitive commitment to the Salesian congregation.

You can work with us in the following countries that make up the AOS Province:

• Côte d’Ivoire
• Ghana
• Liberia
• Sierra Leone
• Togo