Preparation for novitiate

13. Given the diversity of human experience and of religious formation in the candidates, preparation for the novitiate, in today's socio-cultural circumstances, is seen to be ever more necessary and demanding.(⁵¹) Inter-congregational initiatives should offer candidates from the various institutes programs which address, with competence and solidity, the fundamental contents of human and Christian formation so as to promote an integral formation and satisfy any existing gaps. Further, formators themselves need to be able to take part in programs designed to enliven religious life and to apply instruments and criteria for careful vocational discernment. This collaboration is particularly helpful for formators who work in cultures different from their own or who accompany candidates from diverse cultures.