Formation is a term used in the Catholic Church to cover various forms of training and preparation for service and participation in the life of the church.
In relation to ordained clergy, formation is concerned with the personal preparation that the Church offers to candidates for ordination: "priestly formation is necessary for all priests, diocesan and religious and of every rite".[1] The same term is used in relation to deacons.[2] For members of a religious order such as the Society of Jesus, such formation involves a program of spiritual and academic training for life within the order. In the case of priestly formation, the typical location concerned is the seminary either operated by a diocese for the purposes of training diocesan/secular clergy or operated by a religious order for the purpose of preparing its members for priestly ordination.[3]
In other contexts, church documents refer to:
- liturgical formation: "the necessity for ongoing liturgical catechesis of all members of the assembly is self-evident".[4]
- lay formation: "the [lay] apostolate can attain its maximum effectiveness only through a diversified and thorough formation".[5]
- formation in synodality: "the holy People of God require proper formation so that they can witness to the joy of the Gospel and grow in the practice of synodality".[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Second Vatican Council, Optatam Totius, Introduction, published on 28 October 1965, accessed on 29 May 2026
- ↑ St Mary's College, Oscott, Formation for the Diaconate, accessed on 7 June 2026
- ↑ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Church Document for Priestly Formation", accessed on 4 December 2014
- ↑ Liturgy Office [of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales], Basic Liturgical Formation, accessed on 29 May 2026
- ↑ Second Vatican Council, Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity), paragraph 27, published on 18 November 1965, accessed on 27 May 2026. See also the whole of Chapter VI in this document.
- ↑ Diocese of Westminster, How to be a Synodal Church in Mission? Take-outs from the Final Document: "An Informal Reaping of the Fruits", accessed on 29 May 2026
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