Hypothetical Novitiate Question

[AveMariaPurissima]

A hypothetical question:

So I know that according to Canon Law, a person has to be at least 17 to be a novice and only one year of novitiate is required.  In a community that has a two-year novitiate, could a postulant receive the habit and become a novice at age 16 and do their first year of novitiate, and then when the person is 17, start their canonical year of novitiate?  That way he/she wouldn't be doing their "official" required year until they are in fact 17.

(Not saying that I at all think this is a good idea, just wondering if it would be legit...)

[Benedictus]

I doubt any community would do this, even if they could, from a young age.  I have known of someone starting an associate live in before they were 18 as they had a process where you'd be an associate and then a postulate for short period of time. However, that was timed so they could start the formal novice part just after they were 18. Their parents had to agree and so on and it was only for a matter of months. It might also be possible if an institute has an associate school that the aspirant could attend on site until they end their formal education. However, that probably isn't applicable to most.

There are tight and complex legal issues in some places about those under 18 in terms of education and legal guardianship. I suspect many a community would not want to get caught up in this and would go from 18 as a starting point regardless in virtually all cases. The canon law age requirement is there for good reason. In reality, most institutes would want you to be even older then that having done college or worked a bit before entering.

[TheresaThoma]

I think that would be walking a very fine line on being legit and as Benedictus pointed out there are very good reasons for a community to want to wait for someone to enter the novitiate. From what I can tell the majority of communities require that you are 18 before you enter (therefore around 19 when you become a novice). Others require you be 21 prior to entering.

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

You'd have to ask a canon lawyer but it may be actually be possible. 17 may be young here in the US but in other countries that would be quite normal.

[kg94]

If I'm not mistaken, you can't really "start" the noviciate without actually "starting" it... You do have to be 17 by Canon Law, and as far as I know, most Religious would ask you to wait. If you accepted to enter at 16, then that is a blessing, but you may have to undergo a longer postulancy, or just stay in the postulancy until you are 17! Be patient, and many prayers!

[Sponsa-Christi]

Canon lawyer here!

My thought is that no, you can't start an "unofficial" novitiate before you are seventeen. Canon 643 says that "one who has not completed seventeen years of age" [i.e., reached his or her seventeenth birthday] would be invalidly admitted to the novitiate.  Echoing what kg94 said, you can't start a novitiate without being admitted into the novitiate. I suppose theoretically someone could be living in a community and living a life very similar to a novice without being formally admitted to the novitiate---but then this person would be something other than a novice properly speaking (like maybe an "aspirant" or something), and he or she would still need to do a canonical novitiate when he or she came of age.

Also, canon law doesn't really things in terms of there being one "official" novitiate year and another "unoffical" year. Can. 648 says that a novitiate has to last a minimum of twelve months, but can be extended up to two years, and may include "one or more periods of apostolic exercises spend outside the community of the novitiate."  So a novitiate has to be at least a year, but can be longer---but all the time over the first twelve months is still "official" novitiate. 

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

Canon lawyer here!

My thought is that no, you can't start an "unofficial" novitiate before you are seventeen. Canon 643 says that "one who has not completed seventeen years of age" [i.e., reached his or her seventeenth birthday] would be invalidly admitted to the novitiate.  Echoing what kg94 said, you can't start a novitiate without being admitted into the novitiate. I suppose theoretically someone could be living in a community and living a life very similar to a novice without being formally admitted to the novitiate---but then this person would be something other than a novice properly speaking (like maybe an "aspirant" or something), and he or she would still need to do a canonical novitiate when he or she came of age.

Also, canon law doesn't really things in terms of there being one "official" novitiate year and another "unoffical" year. Can. 648 says that a novitiate has to last a minimum of twelve months, but can be extended up to two years, and may include "one or more periods of apostolic exercises spend outside the community of the novitiate."  So a novitiate has to be at least a year, but can be longer---but all the time over the first twelve months is still "official" novitiate. 

​I think that where the confusion might be is that, for example, the Ann Arbor Dominican sisters will sometimes have their "canonical year" as their 2nd year, not the 1st. Personally, I found this confusing because I have understood that you start the novitiate when you start the novitiate and it must last 12 months.

However, I have learned that sometimes canon law has hidden nuggets of possibilities and it can also depend on who you talk to!

I was hoping you'd chime in!

In our monastery (and probably most monasteries) the life of the postulants isn't really different from the novices or the temp. professed in the novitiate on the externals. A postulant and even a 1st year novice will be given more dispensations, etc. if needed but more is expected as they get closer to profession.

[TheresaThoma]

From what I understand is that for some communities with a two year novitiate they may call one year the canonical year and the other the apostolic year. The canonical year is a year of more intense study and prayer with no outside apostolates. Whereas an apostolic year the novices would participate in the community's various apostolates. It isn't that one year is "official" and the other isn't there are just different emphasises for each year.

Also there can be other legal issues with someone under 18 being in a community. The parents have to consent and things like who can make certain decisions have to be clearly written out.

[AveMariaPurissima]

Thank you to everyone for your input.  All this is very interesting.  I think waiting until (at least!) 17 is the best idea all the way around -- canonically, practically, legally, maturity of candidate, etc.

 

(BTW, the question doesn't affect me personally, as I am already plenty old enough to become a novice, should religious life be God's plan for me. )