Interpretation of C 175 — Absence From the Novitiate Community [Constitutions and Directory, 2023 Edition] Responding to questions from Provincial Superiors and Novice Masters on the interpretation of C 175 regarding the counting of days of absence of novices from the novitiate community, the General Council, meeting in session on October 28th, 2024, acting collegially in accordance with C 306, clarifies: C 175, “A valid novitiate must last twelve months and be completed in the novitiate community, in such a manner that a novice would not be absent from the group and the novitiate house for more than three months, whether in a continuous or intermittent manner. An absence exceeding fifteen days must be made up. An absence from the novitiate house that exceeds three months, with due regard to the exceptions in C 174, makes the novitiate invalid”. The expression “novitiate community” should be understood as the novices together with the Novice Master. In the absence of the Novice Master, the Novice Master Associate must be present. “Novitiate community” during the canonical novitiate can go to other places (e.g., for retreats, pilgrimages, college exams, etc.), but always by way of exception, and the Novice Master or his Associate must always be with them. Simultaneous absence from the “novitiate community” of the Novice Master and his Associate results in the counting of these days as days of absence of the novice/novices during his/their canonical novitiate. When counting the days of absence of a novice during his canonical novitiate, it should be remembered that: 1. a novice who leaves the novitiate community for a limited period of time due to illness (hospital), a funeral of relatives or is absent for other reasons, will result as absence during the canonical novitiate. Interpretation of C 175 271
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