Become a Crusader with the Red Star
Before Admission to Religious Formation
Are you a man with a high school diploma, a confirmed Catholic, and do you feel called to the religious priesthood? You can come to serve at the altar in one of the Order's churches. Members of the Order will then introduce you to its apostolate, in keeping with the legacy of our holy founder, St. Agnes of Bohemia, and to religious life in the spirit of the Rule of St. Augustine. If you are studying at a university in Prague, apply for admission to the Order's student residence, the Juvenate, so that you can be even closer to the Order as you discern your vocation.
Candidacy
The first formal step toward membership in the Order is to present yourself to the Grand Master and ask to enter candidacy and the novitiate. During candidacy, the Order examines whether the candidate has a vocation to priestly service in a community of canons regular. The candidate receives the sacraments frequently and becomes familiar with the two fundamental documents governing life in the Order: the Constitutions of the Order and the Rule of St. Augustine.
Novitiate
The novitiate takes place in the Order's main house in Prague by Charles Bridge. It lasts one year and begins with the clothing ceremony (investiture), when the novice receives the Order's habit, a cassock with two white tabs, in the chapter hall. During this time, the novice gets to know religious life. He is assisted by a priest appointed by the Grand Master, the novice master, currently Fr. Tomáš Gregůrek, O.Cr. The novice joins the other clerics in liturgical prayer and meditation. He may end his preparation and leave at any time during the novitiate.
Clericate
After the one-year novitiate, the novice takes temporary vows for three years. The cleric binds himself by vow to chastity (sexual abstinence), poverty (prudent handling of property) and obedience (acceptance of authority) for a set period. During temporary vows, he prepares for priestly ordination through a master's degree in Catholic theology. When this period ends, the cleric may be admitted either to renew his temporary vows for a further period or to take solemn vows (also of chastity, poverty and obedience, but now for life), which bring full and definitive membership. Temporary vows may be taken for no more than three three-year periods, after which the cleric must either leave or take perpetual vows. After completing their theological studies, members of the Order either remain in the monastery or, after ordination to the diaconate and the priesthood, represent the Order as parish priests in its parishes. All Crusaders with the Red Star regularly gather at the monastery and maintain their bond with the religious community.
