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The process of forming a man in the traditions and skills necessary to be a Carmelite priest or brother takes several years. Prayer, patience and hard work are needed to fully integrate a person into the Order. This page outlines the various stages of formation that a person will travel though on the journey to becoming a Carmelite priest or brother.
The pre-novitiate is an introduction to the Carmelite way of life.
 The pre-novitiate community house known as Carith House is located on the campus of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in the Hyde Park section of Chicago.
 At least one year and possibly two for those who already have completed two years or more of undergraduate work. Traditional aged students in their 1st and 2nd year of college will spend one or two years at St. Joseph College Seminary on the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola University in Chicago.
 The pre - novitiate is an opportunity for the candidate to experience Carmelite life as it is lived and to prepare for future studies with the Carmelites. It is also a time of discernment when both the community and the candidate determine whether the candidate has a vocation to the Carmelites.
Brandsma Priory, Middletown, New York
366 days
The novitiate introduces the novice to the religious life where he may experience with us the call to conversion, simplicity, faith and love. The purpose of this year is two-fold. First, it enables the novice to embrace the following of Jesus Christ through living the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience according to the particular spirit of our Carmelite Order. Second, it prepares the novice to make a decision in faith about the future direction of his life. It is in living a life of faith in prayer, community and ministry that the novice discovers the value and meaning of the vows and the particular spirit of our Order. This life experience raises the questions and provides the challenges that make it possible for the novice through prayer and the support of others to make a decision about his vocation. At the completion of the novitiate year, you profess temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Carmelite.
One of the Carmelite Communities in the United States, Canada, or Mexico
One to two years
The Carmelite internship allows the professed Carmelite student to experience community living in a Carmelite house other than a house of formation and to participate in the life and ministry of that community as a full-fledged member. The student learns to integrate the initial formation experience within a different life setting. Students perceive how theology, the tradition of the Church and our Carmelite charism shed light on community living and on contemporary pastoral situations.
Whitefriars Hall, Washington, DC, and the Washington Theological Union, a Roman Catholic School for Ministry
Ordinarily four years
The post-novitiate formation readies the student for solemn vows in the Carmelite Order and prepares him for ministry as a priest or brother. During this time, students grow into a mature relationship with God through payer and living God's word in a contemplative fraternity in the midst of God's people. He continues to become incorporated into the Order, growing in identification with it. He is prepared academically and equipped practically for ministry.
During the Whitefriars years, the student takes final vows and prepares for ordination -- if he is to be a priest -- or non-ordained ministry if he is to be a brother. If he is to be a priest, he is then ordained to the diaconate and then the priesthood. He is then a Carmelite priest, ready to be assigned to a community and a ministry.
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