Is There an Age Limit?

Is There an Age Limit?

In general, there is no age limit for entering the seminary, it is different for every religious order. Important attributes for a person of any age beginning formation are maturity and a love of learning.

For the MCCJ, the majority of those entering are in their mid to late 20’s. The demands of the Church’s mission impose a kind of cut-off in age that is younger than say, orders that minister primarily or exclusively in the USA. Learning another language, adapting to different cultures… becomes more difficult if you do not begin before the age of 30. We still consider men in their 30’s for entering, much depends on one’s level of education completed and whether he knows another language, or has some cross-cultural experience; this is of course advantageous and looked at on an individual basis.

Where the Comboni Missionaries do not require a candidate to know another language or have cross-cultural experience before entering, when a prospective candidate is older than 30 years of age, this is something that is seen as necessary.