Life as a Jesuit novice
Today we have the opportunity to know how the novices of the Society live by reading, for example, the blog of the novices of Genoa or consulting the site of the Novitiate; what are the differences between a novice of 2018 and a novice of one hundred and fifty years ago? What tasks did he usually do? What rules did he have to follow?
We can get to know the life of the novice closely thanks to many documents kept in our archive.
One of the many tasks that could be assigned to novices, in the nineteenth century, concerned for example, the management of the concierge of the Professa house in Rome.
In our historical archive there is the «Diary belonging to F. Portinaro dei Novizi che servono la Casa Professa del Gesù di Roma» from December 1824 to May 1830, which contains a small manuscript pamphlet «Notices for novices who come to help the Professed House» of 1869.
Divided into six chapters, the small manual provides very precise indications both on the ordinary questions of the house, the sacristy and the church, and on the spiritual tasks that belonged to the young Jesuit novice. Let’s see some of them.
The management of the house involved various spiritual tasks but also of a practical order: for example «the chains are put on the usual days and at the same time, when the windows are removed, if it is winter the lights are dimmed», evidently the energy expenditure and care of creation were already in the mind of the writer.
The booklet also reveals the habits of the residence, one of the fathers was assigned to perform the task of “awakener”, but to avoid that these could linger or not wake up in time, anyone who woke up first should wake up others saying«with a voice that others can understand […] Deo gratias et Mariae».
As for the furnishings and the order of their rooms «The paintings, the furniture and everything else must be neatly to its place and the Concierge must take care that it does not change place to anything, nor does it make a hole or plant nail or anything that is on the wall of the apartment».
Community life was characterized by many rules and restrictions: «If it is not a holiday day you will not be able to speak without a license of Fr. Preposito or Fr. Ministro» «The going, conforming to the holy Rules, is without notable haste and when the necessity requires it is observed decorum. Don’t make yourself roar beating with the most on the ground or crawling, but make sure to walk with gravity and modesty» but also «don’t be too curious going home, wandering around with your eyes and wanting to contemplate how many paintings are hung for ornament of the walls». These are just some of the rules that the novice goalkeeper had to observe and make the brothers observe.
Who knows if the older fathers remember being subjected to such rules even at the time of their novitiate…
Certainly today the life of the novices is different… Life in the novitiate will return to provide material for our readers in the next episodes.
Maria Macchi
