Before making a final commitment in this community, there is a time of initial formation which consists of three phases: postulancy, novitiate, and juniorate, preceded by a pre-entry period called the affiliate.
Affiliate: During this time the candidate lives at home. She
has a sister director (sponsor) and a sponsoring community to
journey with her in the role of guide and companion.
Postulancy or Pre-Novitiate: During this phase, she lives with a local community and has a sister sponsor. She meets regularly with the postulant directress for instructions, which are combined with an experience of living community life and ministry. The length of this phase is flexible, from a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years.
Novitiate: Novitiate is the time of initiation into religious life. The length of the novitiate phase is two years, including a canonical year of intense study of the religious life and a year, which includes some ministry experience. At the end of the novitiate, the sister professes her unconditional personal commitment to God by vowing poverty, chastity, and obedience for one year.
Juniorate or Annually Vowed: During this time of initial formation, the sister continues the dynamic movement of growth begun in the novitiate. This phase normally extends from three to five years of annual vows and is culminated with the sister proclaiming a profession of perpetual vows.
Continuing Formation: The perpetually professed sister continues in religious formation throughout her earthly pilgrimage. She carries out the charism of the Order, which is to be in the Church and for the Church "an extension of the Incarnation." All the sisters seek to welcome this inspired word with an ever-deepening faith and to grow in joyful eagerness to ponder and share it. Their charism in the Church as the spiritual daughters of Jeanne de Matel challenges them to seek ever more earnestly to make her spirit of humble submission, compassionate charity, simplicity, detachment, and mortification the governing principle of their lives.