This “Come and See” day at the Clapham Jesuit Community offers an opportunity to step inside Jesuit life and to spend time with men in formation and those living the Jesuit vocation today.
The Society of Jesus is a religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola. Jesuits are formed for a life of prayer, community, and mission, and for availability to be sent wherever the needs of the Church and world are greatest. Their formation is long and intentional—often taking more than a decade—and is shaped by spiritual depth, academic study, and lived experience in ministry.
For those in formation, the journey begins with the novitiate, a two-year period of prayer, community life, and discernment. During this time, men encounter the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, experience simple community living, and spend time in practical apostolic service. At the end of this stage, they take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and continue their formation either towards priesthood as scholastics or as Jesuit brothers.
What follows is a rhythm of study, pastoral work, and mission—time spent in universities, schools, parishes, or social ministries—always grounded in prayer and discernment. Jesuit formation is not only about preparing for a role, but about learning how to listen more deeply to God, to others, and to the world. It is a process of being shaped over many years into availability for mission, wherever it may lead.
This open day is an invitation to encounter that life more closely: to meet Jesuits, hear personal stories of vocation, and reflect on whether this way of life might be something God is calling you to consider.
The programme includes Mass with the community, shared lunch, testimonies, an introduction to Jesuit life and formation, and a guided Ignatian Examen.
For men aged 18–35.
Bank Holiday Monday, 25 May 2026
11:00am – 4:00pm
Clapham Jesuit Community
Sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/CUhqWwaA96
Come as you are—an open invitation to listen, reflect, and explore.
