The process in becoming a Sister of St. Joseph involves several stages and can take 10 or more years.

For a young woman interested in exploring the possibility of becoming a Sister of St. Joseph, the first step is to contact a Vocational Counselor of the Province where she lives.
The Vocational Counselor will meet with her to discuss the experience of God's movements in her own life and will answer her questions about religious life; she will also arrange for her to meet other Sisters and visit some of our houses and apostolates to get a sense of how we live, pray together, and work in the world today.
She will be encouraged to have a spiritual director to assist her during this process.

If the discerning person feels called to life in our Congregation, she will be given further opportunities to visit Sisters in their communities, to work as a volunteer in our apostolates, and to share prayers and celebrations with us. There will be a psychological assessment indicating her maturity and her capacity for the type of life we live. She will also have a three-week experience living with some of our Sisters, sharing community life while deciding if she moves on to the next stage.

In the next stage, she formally enters our Congregation as a "Candidate" or "Postulant"; she moves to one of our houses and participates in all aspects of community life including prayer, meals, and house responsibilities.
Then, she becomes a "Novice". The stage in the Novitiate lasts for two years, as prescribed by the Canon Law of the Church; this is a time of intense preparation for commitment to religious life. She spends her time in prayer, study, and interaction with other Novices, with her Novice Mistress, and with other Sisters; she will have some experience in working with the materially poor, preferably in an area unfamiliar to her.
Since our Congregation is international, we will make every effort for her to meet Sisters from other parts of the world and experience the stimulating diversity and unity among our sisters.

She will meet with the Mistress of Candidates at least once a month and will participate in group works with other individuals entering Religious Life in other Congregations. During this time, she continues to work and, if she has debts or obligations, she will work to pay them off. The length of the Postulant period can last from six months to two years.

After completing the Novitiate, she will make her First Vows in Religious Life.
The vows of poverty, consecrated celibacy, and obedience are at the heart of the commitment Sisters make to God and to their Congregation. Much of the Novice's experiences were aimed at guiding her to a deep and broad understanding of the meaning of the vows and the ways to live them today. After making the First Vows, the Sister fully lives the life of our Congregation, like any other Sister. She continues to meet monthly with the Sister who accompanies her in her stage.

In the final stage of this process, the Sister makes her Final Vows. Final Vows are a permanent and lifelong commitment to live as a Sister of St. Joseph. This can happen within 3 to 6 years after making her First Vows.

The aim of the entire process is to discover God's will for that person, to know whether she will engage in our community life or in another different congregation or even in another lifestyle. We rejoice when a woman decides to join us! But even if, in the end, she decides that she is not called to share our life, we are still happy that this process has been useful in helping her realize that God is calling her to a different way of life.

Lay Associates

In Father Médaille's time, there were lay affiliates, that is, women who had a stable spiritual bond with the Congregation and wanted to be associated with the Sisters in apostolate and prayer. The same happens today; people interested in our spirituality may wish to be associated with our Congregation.

Lay Associates of the Little Project – Associates of the Sisters of St. Joseph – are Christian women and men who wish to grow in their spiritual life and in service to others. They may be married, widowed, or single individuals who have a certain maturity in relationships and who have love for the Congregation and its apostolate.

The Program for Lay Associates offers members an opportunity to become familiar with the Sisters and the Congregation, as well as to take time for a serious understanding of the call to live the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery. Lay Associates have a formation period where they learn about the History, Spirituality, and Charism of the Congregation. As they deepen their call to live the spirit of the Congregation in their homes and workplaces, they actively participate in prayer times, celebrations, and social justice activities within the Congregation.

Each Province of the Congregation has a Lay Associates Program adapted to the needs of the culture and country where they are located. Lay Associates gather in small groups, usually with a Sister or Sisters, for prayer and reflection. Occasionally they come together for a Retreat.
Some members have active participation in the Sisters' mission, others volunteer in different apostolates, others still participate in the apostolate of prayer. Whatever the level of participation, Lay Associates live their common life in the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph.