« Every priest, either before or after his ordination, needs to undergo a period of solitude in order to realize the living and active presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in his own soul, and also to learn how to conform his own action docilely to that of the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, he must utilize all necessary measures to perfect this docility.  The Institute of the Priests of Notre-Dame de Vie aims to respond to this need. » Père Marie Eugène

A priest of Notre Dame de Vie aspires to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit, to deepen his knowledge of and his docility to the Holy Spirit.

Concretely, it means that one has to come in order to discover the place and the rhythm of life. The attraction or the lack of it will already be a determining element.

A priest who is interested will be invited to spend one year in Notre Dame de Vie, two years for a layman or a seminarian. Several of us had to interrupt our seminary studies for this purpose.

At the end of two years, we are invited to commit ourselves in the Institute, making the vows of chastety, poverty, and obedience. These vows sustains our commitment to our diocese, and it  is the answer to the call we received to live in our ministry the grace of Carmel.

At the end of this formation, we are invited to commit ourselves in the Institute, that is, to pronounce the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. These vows sustain our commitment in our diocese and our response to the call that we have received to observe and put into practice the grace of Carmel while carrying out our ministry.

The period of temporary vows lasts 6 years, at the end of which we make the definitive commitment in the Institute.