Claretian Formation

CHAPTER V

THE PREFECT IN THE CONCILIAR RENEWAL

        The Congregation has always expressed an evident concern for formators, both[1] in number and dedication and preparation.  Within the Conciliar renewal of the Congregation, interest and concern for formators occupied a privileged place[2].

I. THE TRADITIONAL FIGURE OF THE CLARETIAN PREFECT

        An initial affirmation of the general chapter of 1967, the first chapter that faced with intensity and depth the conciliar renewal of the Congregation,  is that the traditional figure of our Prefect as formator of seminarians should be maintained[3].  The traditional figure of the prefect, while maintaining the basic pedagogical features, must be adapted to suit the circumstances and levels of training.[4]

1. Description

        In our Claretian tradition the prefect is the person who, on behalf of the Congregation, accompanies the trainees in the integral development of their missionary vocation.  Their mission is not limited to the organizational, disciplinary­­ and spiritual aspects.  It covers all the dimensions of training in order to promote a harmonious training­.­ [5]

        The Prefect leads the formative direction of the Seminary according to the supreme criteria of the Church and the Congregation, and always in accordance with the guidelines of the competent Superiors[6].  This is a personal function which must be understood in relation to the whole training community and each of its trainees.  Their competence covers the whole of the training project, even if other people are involved in the implementation of certain training activities such as academic, pastoral and disciplinary etc. He has the responsibility of being spiritual guide of the group as a whole.  Hence the requirement of the educational presence of a prefect among the trainees and his dedication to offer them opportunities for meeting, exhortation, instruction, prayer and celebration together, etc.[7]. 

2. Gifts and qualities

        1º. The[8] 1967 General Chapter indicates that trainers must possess the emotional maturity to enable them to carry out, under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, their mission in aedificationem Corporis Christi   + in what is most select.

        They also need an inner balance, which is manifested in the authenticity and sincerity of their lives and in self-control; in the objectivity of their judgements on reality; the ability to understand the subjective world of the students and to create an educational and family climate of mutual cooperation that makes them appear as a witness of the Claretian ideal.

        The Claretian formators must have a deep ecclesial sense, an outstanding missionary sensitivity, a deep love for the Congregation, a proven fidelity to the Superiors, an intense prayer life and an unblemished exemplarity. Their life record, their way of thinking and their way of acting have a profound and important impact on the outcome of the training of the candidates.

        Our Constitutions (n. 77) emphasize primarily pastoral charity, together with a capacity for relationship and acceptance, solid doctrine and an exemplary witness in accordance with the missionary nature of our vocation.  Finally, the formators must be true leaders in relation to the formators and communicate their religious and apostolic enthusiasm[9] . 

According to the PGF[10], trainers must possess certain specific qualities in order to carry out their ministry effectively.  Among them:

• Human capacity for intuition and acceptance .

• Mature experience of God and prayer.

• Openness to team up with other trainers.

• Love for the Church, her apostolic tradition and her liturgy.

• Love for the Congregation and knowledge of its history.

• Sensitivity and pastoral experience, identifying with the options and subjects of our mission[11]

• Necessary cultural and pedagogical competence.

3. The prophetic role of formators

To encourage prophetic training[12], the prefects must have a prophetic flair.  They must be identified with our prophetic mission and promote a methodology with prophetic flavor.  They must all acquire the capacity of adaptation with an open mind and ready to seek God always in all things, modern and old.  They are the ones who, with creativity and audacity, must take the initiative in the foreseeable changes and go ahead when the circumstances and signs of the times demand it in dialogue with superiors and trainees[13]. 

In constant contact with the Word of God and consciously living the prophetic spirit[14], the formators must above all acquire spiritual wisdom, supernatural instinct, and become experts in the ways that lead to God.  From this sapiential perspective, they will be able to face with true prophetic flair the mission and the formative task entrusted to them.  This implies some skills and attitudes: [15]

• Ability to listen and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, the formator’s true agent of formation and inspiration, who performs his task as an authentic mediator of his formative action[16].
• Ability to listen to vocational signs of trainees in order to help them discern them;  the recognition of the personal gifts of the trainees to encourage them in their freedom, growth and maturity and ability to know how to guide them in the future congregational and ecclesial[17].
• Ability to relate to the trainees with the distinctive imprint of our prophetic style of life that we receive from Mary;  a mark that will also be expressed in the formative relationship, characterized by love, tenderness, understanding and closeness, vocational joy and fidelity to the Word. [18]
• Sensitivity to the signs of times and places, particularly those values for which missionaries are to be trained;  the challenges of the Church;  and the needs and urgencies of the Congregation[19].
• Ability to give witness to a life of holiness and enthusiasm for one’s vocation.  Nothing like the witness of the formator will help the formator to give a generous response to the action of the Holy Spirit. [20]

II. THE PREFECT AND THE TRAINING TEAMS

The 1973 General Chapter, following the line of the conciliar renewal, reflected and adapted to the demands of the times the figure of the prefect.  His intention was not to remove the last formative responsibility of the Prefect or Teacher[21].  The realistic sense of training direction on the one hand and the evolution of the concept of responsibility towards more and better shared co-responsibility; on the other hand, they demanded that as far as possible the Congregation’s training centres should be run by training teams[22].[23]

To make the training task more complete, it was therefore desirable that we should have a team of trainers with complementary skills in our centres, whose members are aware of their common responsibility and work­ together.  This team of trainers would always act under the primary responsibility of one of them[24]. [25]

Thus, while always leaving the centrality of the trainer (prefect or teacher) in the training community unimpaired, the members of the team, under the direction of the superior, should live in close communion of spirit, forming among themselves and with those they are to educate, a close family[26].   The trainer is not a lone agent;  Within his special role, he is a member of a Claretian community with a concrete point of reference, communication and community confrontation.  Acting alone is a risk which, in practice, could undermine the principle that training must be a matter for the Community[27]. 

1. Conditions of the training equipment

The training team must meet a set of requirements to be effective in its training task[28].  This is why:

• Agree on psycho-pedagogical criteria and guidelines.
• It will bring together those formators who as a whole have a positive pastoral experience, a solid theological formation, a remarkable capacity and readiness to renew themselves and adapt to the circumstances of places and times, a deep formation in the religious and priestly life and a sensitivity for the spiritual life.
• In his concrete performance, he will maintain a perfect unity of action, even within the personal style of each team member.

        2. Roles of the trainer and training team

• The functions of the prefect and the team, with respect to each individual trainee and the group as a whole, are[29]:
• Discern with the trainees the work that God is doing in them and the ways by which he wants to make them advance.
• To accompany them in their various stages of growth, respecting their pace and offering them at all times the support necessary for their development.
• To provide them with solid food, doctrinal and practical, at each stage, which responds to their personal needs, the demands of the present moment, and their future responsibilities.
• Evaluate the results obtained and judge whether they possess the capacities required by the Church and the Congregation[30].

III. THE PREFECT IN THE TRAINING PHASES

After having described in a general way the figure of the Claretian prefect and the training team, the PGF emphasizes at each stage some aspects that the prefect has to develop in a special way.

1. Vocational Reception        

The trainer in this vocational phase[31] plays a very important and delicate role[32] .  Therefore, in addition to sufficient pedagogical, apostolic and religious preparation, he must possess an educational charism that will enable him to carry out his task.  He must be enthusiastic about his own vocation and coherent in the witness of life[33]. 

The team of trainers, where it exists, must be a true model for identification with the candidates by virtue of the authenticity, joy, fraternity and dedication with which they fulfil their training function[34].

2. Postulancy 

        In this stage of preparation for the novitiate there must be a full-fledged prefect;  It is already a training stage in itself.  The responsible person must be an experienced missionary with[35] sufficient pastoral experience­ and adequate psycho-pedagogical and spiritual preparation.  Given the characteristics of the stage, it should have the ability to be in tune with young people[36].

        The functions of the prefect at this stage are:

• To collect, in  collaboration with the candidate, all the data and information­ useful for discerning the signs of a Claretian vocation and its possible contraindications.­  ­
•  Help the applicant to achieve the objectives of the stage and to attain the maturity necessary to make his decisions with due guarantees of freedom and responsibility.
•  Offer, regardless of the way in which the postulancy is carried out, a group experience or a Claretian community life in an environment favourable to discernment[37].
•  Ensure sufficient preparation (especially in language) if the postulant has to undertake the novitiate in a country of different languages and cultures.

        To offer a more complete formation, if possible, it will have the collaboration of other missionaries. And to ensure continuity in the formation, the person responsible for this stage should be in frequent contact with the master of novices, with the­ble de la pastoral vocacional y con los formadores del seminario menor, si los hubiere. 

3. Novitiate

The direction of the novices, as stated in the CIC,  is reserved only to the master, under the authority of the Major Superiors[38].  Without undermining the role of the teacher, he can have collaborators who work as a team and share responsibilities and functions.  They depend on him for the direction of the novitiate and for the implementation of the formation­ plan[39].

The novice master is a professed perpetual teacher, endowed with the human, religious and apostolic qualities[40] that will enable him to fully fulfill his mission.  In addition to a suitable apostolic experience, he must possess great love for the Congregation­, pedagogical skills, and the necessary gifts of maturity, kindness, prudence, and sound doctrine regarding the nature and mission of the Congregation in the Church. [41] ­­[42]

The teacher has the task of helping the novices, with his word and example, to be formed in the missionary life of the Congregation­[43].  To this end, it must:

• Personally­ accompany­ each novice, giving him personal guidance and instilli­ng in­ him the human and Christian virtues. [44]

• To strive to create and encourage a true community of faith and love among the novices.

• To ensure that they attain the unity of missionary life which will enable them to integrate harmoniously the spirit of union with God and apostolic action.

4. Missionaries in formation

The prefect is the proper trainer for missionaries preparing for perpetual profession and for diaconal or presbyteral ordination[46].  It is a service of great importance for its purpose and consequences, since its mission is to accompany and form, with its witness of life and its orientations­, those who, through the ministry of the Word, will be as instruments of salvation for many.  It is necessary, therefore, that whoever is appointed by the Major Superior with the consent of his Council[47], should prepare himself appropriately­ and try to perform with all solicitude the service which the Congregation entrusts to[48] him.  ­­­

1º. The principal functions of the prefect are:

• To love everyone equally and know the needs of each[49].

• Inspire the students, with their life and word, in love for vocation, for the Church and for our Congregation, and expose them to their life and mission in the world.

• To help them personally to become firmly established in their vocation and to live it with joy, so that­ all may assume this way of life by intimate conviction of faith.[50]

• Encourage formation, seeking to make virtue the preferred option for knowledge, but not neglecting it either, because holiness and intelligence are the two feet of the missionary: both essential­[51].

• To encourage responsibility and internal discipline in each trainee.

• Encouraging the communion of life among all and keeping­­­­ in communion with the superiors, informing them about the progress of the formative community, discerning with them what is most convenient and carrying out their orientations­­.[52]

2º. The prefect may be assisted in his task by one or more collaborators with complementary skills[53].  He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of training and the team of partners[54].  Among them there must be a strong sense of unity, both in terms of criteria and actions, within the personal style of each member[55].  Its first formative action is the joyful witness of missionary life, which stimulates the formands to a greater commitment in following Christ according to our charism.

• Among the qualities of human and spiritual maturity required of trainers, the prefect and his collaborators should emphasize:
  • Exemplarity, so that his love for the Congregation and for the observance of the Constitutions may[56] shine forth
• • The ecclesial sense and missionary sensitivity[57].
• • Adequate pastoral experience.
• • To encourage the formation of this stage by seeking the co-responsibility of all members of the formative community and, at the same time, the lines and means of formation more in line with the feeling of the Church and the Congregation.Create a good community climate and help to live the commitments of the training programme drawn up jointly by all members of the community.To carry out the specific tasks assigned to each.Help the trainees to grow as suitable ministers of the Word and remain available for the needs of the Congregation­.To deal realistically and calmly with the training issues and problems that arise.To judge whether the trainees offer the due guarantees, as indicated by the Church and the Congregation, for profession and, as appropriate, ministries and ordination.Discern the apostolic aptitude of each trainee to suggest possible specializations and destinations to the provincial government.

IV. OTHER TRAINING ASPECTS

1. Selection of trainers

        Since formation depends not only on the guidelines of formation but also, above all, on suitable educators, the superiors, prefects and teachers of our seminaries must be chosen from among the best.  There is no doubt *to remove them from other positions which are apparently of greater importance, but which in reality cannot be compared with this essential ministry, which no other one surpasses.[58]          

2. Educational presence and full dedication

• In our Congregation and in the Church in general, a formative community is not understood without a formator who, acting on behalf of the Institute, is there the witness and interpreter of the congregational project that with the group has to translate into reality.  Their membership of this training community implies a physical presence in it and a daily sharing of their life moments.[59] 
• Therefore, in order that the formators, prefects and teachers of novices may perform their duties with dedication and fruit they must be free from the obligations and offices that prevent them[60].

3. Training of trainers

        The prefects need a specific preparation, which is truly technical, pedagogical, spiritual, human, theological and pastoral, to carry out their tasks effectively[61].  In a special way, it is seen the need for the trainer to cultivate his own preparation in psychology, spirituality and Claretian charism, which will undoubtedly make more human and dense communication with each one and with the group.

        1º. It would be of little value for the Congregation to make significant investments in resources, instruments and buildings for formation if it did not invest first of all in quality people, dedicated to this phase of its own development even at the expense of other possible activities.  Therefore, it is the duty of the superiors to promote that our formators be carefully trained, especially in the theology of religious life with solid doctrine, suitable pastoral experience and a unique spiritual and pedagogical formation[62].  The Senior Agencies should pay greater attention to promoting within their possibilities the vocation of trainer and provide in an effective way that preparation they need for the right performance of their office.

•           2º. In addition to preparation for their appointment, they[63] need permanent training which will help them to overcome routine and above all enable them to renew themselves continuously in the light of their experience.  This experience becomes a source of training, provided that it is subject to constant and fraternal evaluation.  Exchange with other trainers, analysis of specific training situations and problems, consultation with experts, up-to-date knowledge of the world of youth, short meetings or systematic programmes devoted to theological and pedagogical updating, apostolic experiences and spiritual renewal will enable the formators to evaluate their task and prepare themselves to carry it out more fruitfully[64].[65]

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[1] In this chapter we deal with the prefect’s subject by referring to all post-conciliar documents: Constitutions and Directory, General Chapters, Letter on the formation of Fr. Gustavo Alonso and the PGF We practically transcribe the texts almost in their entirety without making any special psychological or pedagogical comments;  In some cases, it is rather a synthesis of the congregational texts around some aspect of the figure of the prefect.  Finally, as is usual among us, the trainer we are talking about now is called prefect, in the case of novices, master.  With the conciliar renewal, the figure of the ecónomo as prefect of the auxiliary brothers disappeared.

[2] Cf. 2F 14.

[3] Cf. 1F 81.

[4] In addition to the formative stages, among the circumstances that must be considered today in the Congregation are the new style of community relationship, cultural diversity, the scarcity of vocations in some formative communities, etc. (cf. Ibid. ; also paragraph III of this Chapter).

[5] Cf. PGF 414.

[6] Therefore, he will consult the Rector on the application of these educational criteria and will assist him in his task in order to achieve an effective coordination of all trainers in the common task (cf. number 72) (cf. 1F 81; also 1F 72).

[7] It is also the person that the Congregation offers to each forming for such a fundamental aspect of formation as spiritual direction, leaving safe in any case, the freedom of the trainer to choose and have another suitable person recognized by superiors for this type of support.  Even in this case, as the Directory (n. 237) points out, a frequent personal discussion with the prefect is essential.  We will talk about this topic in the next chapter (cf… G. ALONSO, circular Claretianos en Formación, CF, Roma 1990, p. 28).

[8] Cf. 1F 77-78.

[9] Cf. CF, p. 28; also, 1F 77.

[10] Cf. PGF 108. The PGF, taking into account our congregational orientations, enriches them with others emanating from the Church in the documents PI, PFS and PDV adapting them to new situations of time and place.

[11]     ? Cf. MCH 228.

[12] On prophetic formation, cf. PREFECTURE GENERAL OF FORMATION, Claretian Prophetic Formation, Rome 2003, 117 pp.

[13] Cf. 1F 71.

[14] The theme of the formator, cf. Claretian prophetic formation, pp. 75-76.

[15] Cf. VC 66, 84, 94.

[16] As the PGF says, “through the formators the Spirit of Jesus acts.  Therefore, living in listening to the Spirit and being attentive to his motions and inspirations must be a permanent attitude on their part as well as on the part of those who form” (107).

[17] During the theological studies, the Prefect of students, in close collaboration with the entire team of Formators and with the students themselves, strive to discover the particular inclinations and qualities of each one, informing the Provincial Prefect for Studies (cf. 1F 197).

[18] Cf. EMP 20.

[19] Cf. PGF 108-109, 307, 415-418.

[20] Cf. 1F 14.

[21] Cf. 2F 14 a).

[22] It is seen in practice that those elements which our Documents, Directory and Constitutions require of the Prefect and Master (1F 76-83, 121;  Dir 240-243; CC 108-116) can hardly be put into a person;  even more so, when in the present circumstances training problems have acquired greater volume and complexity (cf. 2F 14).  The Chapter 73 Training Commission. of which I was part as secretary, baptized the figure of the Claretian prefect as superstar, person almost impossible or difficult to find.

[23] Therefore, there is a need to expand the concept of Prefect and Teacher by enriching it with elements of community pedagogy and making it lead to a group or team that brings together in itself most of the elements that the Church and the Congregation postulate for those responsible directly from the training of candidates (2F 14).   Already the 1967 General Chapter, aware of this need, called for “in matters of discipline and external regime, the prefect may be assisted by one or more partners who will be immediately under his supervision in these (training) subjects” (1F 81, 8o).  “The assistants, under the supervision of the prefect, are responsible for the external discipline of our seminars (CC I, 99;  CIA 333, 1-2). The same applies to teachers as regards the order and discipline of their classes” (1F 83).

[24] The trainer, especially when not part of a training team, will need much communication and exchange with other training centres and trusted people to help him in his complex task (cf. 2F 14c).

[25] Cf. Dir 162; PGF 111.

[26] The Directory (n. 164) explains the concept of a formative community, which conveys an ecclesial and congregational experience­ according to which formation is always a communal event.

• [27] Cf. CF, p. 29. In their own way, other training agents (v. gr. the teachers) are exposed to this when they see their work as something independent both of the training process and of the Community (cf. ib… ; Cf. also 1F 71)

[28] Cf. 2F 14 b).

[29] Cf. PGF 109.

[30] Cf. Dir 163.

[31] This includes the special case of applicants in their homes.  They are young people with vocational interest who live with their families, carry out a follow-up and personalized accompaniment­ programme and­ meet regularly under the direction of a formator to share and develop vocational experience (cf. PGF 324.4).­

[32] Cf. PGF 317-318.

[33] Cf. 2F 14.

[34] Cf. Dir 184.

[35] Cf. Dir 194.

[36] Cf. PGF 345-347.

[37] Cf. Dir 191.

[38] Cf. CIC 650.

[39] Cf. CIC 651, 2.

[40] Cf. PGF 369-373.

[41] Cf. CIC 651; Dir 210.

[42] Cf. CC 68.

[43] Cf. CC 68.

[44] Cf. Dir 211.

[45] cf CIC 652, 1.

• [46] Cf. PGF 413-418.

[47] Cf. RE (B) 37; CC 77.

[48] Cf. Dir 248.

[49] Cf. RE (B) 37, 8; CC 77.

[50] CC 77.

[51] RE (B) 37, 4.

[52]     . Cf.RE (B) 37, 2;  Dir 251.

[53]     . Cf.: 2F 14.

[54]     ? Cf. Dir 162; OT 5; 1F 75.

[55]     . Cf.: 2F 14b.

[56]     ? RE (B) 37, 1.

[57]     ? Cf. Dir 249.

[58] 1F 76. Cf. also, CC (1924) I, 90, 131, 146.

[59] Cf. CF, pp. 27-28.

[60] Cf. CIC 651.3: PGF 113, 371.

[61] Cf. PDV 66; OT 5.

[62] Cf. 1F 79; 2F 14 d; CF, p. 29; PGF 112. Accordingly, an Institute or Centre will be created in the Congregation to prepare naturally gifted individuals for this ministry. They may attend other centres outside the Congregation, but this general formation must be completed with other subjects more directly related to our spirituality and our aims. They must have a License in Theology or Sacred Scripture or equivalent degrees. The Chapter also hopes that a specialized commission will prepare an organic programme for this centre of trainers. It is also important to organize timely courses and assemblies of our seminary educators at predetermined times (cf. OT 5). These meetings should be at general or provincial level, involving trainers from all stages of training in order to achieve better coordination between them. Do not neglect to take part in congresses and meetings with other priests and religious formators (cf. Ibid.).

[63] Cf. PFS 49-64.

[64] Cf. PFS 65.

[65]     ? Cf. PFS 66-71.