Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you are interested in becoming a Jesuit, or wondering if you could become one, or wondering how one may become a Jesuit, you should find these information helpful.

Some Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Society of Jesus?
2. What is Calcutta Province?
3. Who can become a Jesuit?
4. What am I to do, if I want to join the Calcutta province of the Society of Jesus?
5. How many years will it take to become a Jesuit?

1. What is the Society of Jesus?
Society of Jesus is an international Catholic religious order founded by St.Ignatius of Loyola and his companions. S.J. is the common abbreviation for the “Society of Jesus”. The members of this organization are known as Jesuits. We are about 14,500 Jesuits from various nationality spread all around the world serving people for Christ and His Church.

2. What is Calcutta Province?
To focus our service to a particular geographical area and for administrative reasons, we are divided into “Provinces”. These Provinces are grouped into 10 Assistancies. India comes under “South Asian Assistancy”. Calcutta Province is one of the 19 Provinces and Regions in India. It consists of the Jesuits who opted themselves to serve the people of Bengal and Bangladesh. (Bengal is one of the States of the Indian Republic and Calcutta (Kolkata) is the capital of Bengal.) At the time of Independence in 1947, Bengal was divided into West Bengal and East Bengal. East Bengal was part of Pakistan. When East Bengal became independent, it was named Bangladesh. Calcutta Jesuits started working there from 1990.

3. Who can become a Jesuit?
To become a Jesuit:
One has to be a baptized Catholic male, who has received the sacrament of Confirmation.
One who has no obligations to the family.
One who has a generous heart to serve and follow Jesus.
One who is ready to follow the rules and regulations of the Society of Jesus.
One who has passed at least Class XII as a minimum academic qualification.

4. How many years will it take to become a Jesuit?
A person is known as Jesuit from the beginning of his novitiate training in the Society of Jesus. In the novitiate, he is known as a Jesuit Novice and in the following years of formation, he is known as Jesuit Scholastic. There are no fixed years to become a “formed Jesuit”. After completion of novitiate for two years, if a person pronounces three perpetual vows (i.e., poverty, chastity and obedience) in the Society of Jesus, he is generally called a Jesuit scholastic. He has to go through certain stages of formation such as Juniorate, Philosophy, Regency and Theology as well as further secular studies before becoming a Jesuit priest or brother.

5. What am I to do, if I want to join the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus?
Step 1: Pray over the decision – Spend some time in prayer and ask God’s grace to guide you so that you can live His Call.
Step 2: If you think or even doubt that your decision is from God, contact us immediately. We will get in touch with you and we will be with you in your search. We encourage you to attend our vocation camp generally organized during summer holidays.