Cheshire, CT – On September 14, 21 new novices received their cassocks at the Legionaries of Christ’s novitiate in Cheshire. 17 of the young men are from the US, one from Colombia, one from Ecuador, one from Hong Kong, and one from Korea. 

Legionaries begin their formation with the 2-year period of novitiate – a time to grow in prayer and to learn about the religious life in general, and specifically about religious life in the Legion. Novices spend a substantial amount of each day in prayer, as well as study: their classes include Christology, Spirituality, and Latin, among others. Their schedule is balanced with regular sports, recreation, and hiking.

Fr. Joseph Brickner, LC is the Instructor of Novices in Cheshire. His mission is to help young men discern their call in life, and to help lay the foundations of religious life for those who are called to priesthood in the Legion.

“An Instructor of Novices carries a great responsibility,” Fr. Joseph says. “A novice is one who is new to the religious life. If a sapling is planted well and nurtured, it becomes something magnificent later on as a full-grown tree, producing many fruits. The instructor’s duty is to guide, nurture, and help the novice to mature and bear fruit that lasts.”

The ceremony

	Br. Joseph Ory, nLC speaks at the ceremony

of receiving the cassock is an important step, as it signals the beginning of the novitiate. 

“Receiving the uniform of the Legion of Christ was one of the most profound experiences of my entire life,” says Br. Andrew Lane nLC, of Pennsylvania. “When I held the cassock in my hands for the first time, I felt that with it came a great responsibility, an important mission given to me directly from God. This mission is to follow him more closely as his Legionary; to leave behind the old man, and to live for him alone.”