The goal of a Sodalit’s formation is knowledge of and familiarity with the Church’s faith, of the world ‘s current realities, and of everything that is related to the Sodalit mission. Because of the many challenges involved in announcing the Gospel message in today’s society, the Sodalits strive to be prepared to respond to those challenges in the many fields of their apostolate. Along with a common plan of formation, which at the same time implies the need for a personalization of formation according to the abilities and interests of each person, the Sodalit chooses particular professional studies, discerning under the light of the Plan of God and in the spirit of obedience the personal mission to which each one is called to respond faithfully to the Lord.
The formation for a Sodalit life, including those called by God to the priesthood, has several stages. These stages guarantee both for the candidate and the community that this process, which is so important for the person’s life, will be treated with attention and reverence.
The initial stage of formation currently takes place at the Formation Center Our Lady of Guadalupe, located just south of Lima, Peru. In a communal environment of prayer, study, and brotherly sharing, year after year groups of young men deepen in the personal call that God makes to each one of them. The Formation Center is a setting conducive to a profound and sincere personal discernment.
During this time, while they more deeply reflect upon and determine the meaning of their vocation, the Sodalit postulants begin preparing themselves for the commitment to serve in the works of the New Evangelization, cooperating with the grace that God pours into their hearts in response to the universal call to holiness.
At the Formation Center, the following areas are included as parts of an integral formation: the spiritual and liturgical life, self-knowledge, a deepening in the faith of the Church, study and an intellectual formation, the development of artistic and technical abilities, the preparation for the apostolate, sports, and the cultivation of the sensibility to live out a life of Christian solidarity.
The Sodalits understand, however, that their formation is not only a necessary part of their first years in the Sodalitium, but rather that it should be a constant and continual part of their lives. In a certain sense, this formation aims to be a permanent formation that allows them to always be available and prepared to respond to the mission of evangelization: to seek to ensure that the dynamic of the Gospel may reach and transform whatever is in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation.