Becoming Dominican

The Dominican Family includes vowed members of religious congregations--women and men--cloistered nuns, Dominican Laity, lay men and women associates of various independent religious congregations of women, Dominican Volunteers, and Dominican Youth.

Vowed Membership

Akron Dominican women are bearers of the Word for the world, called to be preachers of grace. Consecrating one's life to a mission in response to the call of God is a prophetic act that must be motivated by love and sustained by hope. Celibate life in community is strengthened by the bonds of friendship. Simplicity of life style is possible because of the riches offered to us in Jesus Christ. The consecrated life is a way of obedience--which means listening--to God, to scripture, to one's neighbor, and to a world in crisis.

There are five stages of membership

Stages of Formation

The Affiliation Stage provides an opportunity for a woman interested in religious life to get to know the Congregation and the Congregation to know her. She develops a relationship with the Vocation minister who helps her discern if God is calling her to religious life. Her interaction with community members provides additional clarity to her call to religious life and to our particular congregation. During the Affiliation Stage the affiliate lives at home and continues her regular way of life while participating in the Affiliation Program designed to assist her in her choice. A maximum of two years is recommended for the Affiliation Stage. During this stage she may begin the admission process.

The Candidate Stage is initiated at a special prayer service, welcoming the affiliate to the next stage in her formation. As a candidate she will live in a local community and share in their life of prayer, common life and involvement in ministry. She continues her occupation and/or education. During this period the candidate with the guidance of the Formation Minister will pursue further her call to religious life and her ability to live in the community as a Dominican Sister. During this stage the candidate has an opportunity to deepen her spiritual life. She is given an overview of the Congregation in terms of its Constitutions, goals, spirit, ministries and membership which further aids the candidate to discern her call.

The Canonical Novitiate is for the woman who has successfully completed the Candidate Program and is formally beginning religious life. It is an extended period of reflection and experience in living out the Dominican life and its spirituality including the elements of Prayer, Study, Common Life and Ministry. This year includes an in-depth study of the Vows, the nature of Religious Life and the story of the Dominican Order. Our congregation participates in the Dominican Collaborative Novitiate in St. Louis, Missouri, supported by twenty-two congregations of Dominican Sisters. The novices receive a broader view of the Dominican Family through their interaction with the Dominican Friars from the Central Province and the faculty and staff at Aquinas Institute of Theology. In order to be valid, the canonical novitiate must last a minimum of twelve months, but it is encouraged that this time be distributed over a two-year period and be interspersed with ministry experience.

The Apostolic Novitiate which follows the Canonical Year emphasizes ministry involvement. It is a period when learning what occurred during the Canonical Year is integrated with the novice’s lived experience.

Temporary Profession is the period of the formation program in which the woman promises to live a consecrated life as a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron.
It is a time in which she prepares for perpetual profession of vows. The Sister enters fully into the life and ministry of the Congregation. The period of temporary vows begins at the end of the novitiate and extends until the expiration of the time mentioned in the vow formula. This period would generally be at least three years.

Perpetual Profession is made from three to six years after the Sister’s first profession. During the year prior to Perpetual Profession there must be ample time for prayer and reflection with a retreat offered to meet the needs of the Sister in temporary profession. A Sister professing perpetual vows gives public witness to the union between Christ and his Church. Therefore, the rite of religious profession ordinarily takes place during the Eucharistic Celebration either at the Motherhouse or a parish church.

If you are interested in the religious life and/or the congregation of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, Ohio, please contact:

Sister Bernadine Baltrinic, OP
Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron
1230 West Market Street
Akron, OH 44313
Tel 330-836-4908
E-mail btbaltrinic@akrondominicans.org