“Formation is a lifelong project,” Leonard said, and helps in one’s personal growth, development and ministry.

Sheehan spoke of the danger of not getting “sufficient theological training” in a constantly changing world. But the academic study of theology and Scriptures also need to be accompanied with practice and interpreted with an eye to the charism of each respective religious congregation, she said.

Sheehan shared her experience as a young novice in Detroit in the 1960s where the congregation’s Motherhouse was located in an impoverished neighbourhood.

“I met, in the faces of these children, the face of God,” she said.

“The theological tradition is still an anchoring point but needs to grow,” Sheehan said, adding that there is a need to live out the theology of charity and justice.

Meanwhile, Dias referred to the declining number of religious over the years, citing a 2009 study which said there were 84 religious under the age of 35 in Canada and 622 religious over 90 years of age. And of the 61,000 religious in the United States, 88 per cent were 60 years old or older, one per cent under 40 and 10 per cent older than 90.

Dias said the statistics may seem “jarring” but aren’t meant to “shock or depress.”

“I firmly believe in the fecundity of religious life and its future. I’m firmly confirmed about my own vocation,” he said.

But with this trend of religious congregations, it appears that the church is at a turning point, Dias said, referring to a “renewal of formation.”

“(There are) concerns about how, in light of our decreasing numbers, the church has a theologically literate population to undertake its apostolate,” he said.

This trend could mean that ongoing formation is a responsibility for the laity as the number of religious who work in schools and hospitals has fallen drastically over the years.

After the speakers’ presentations, Sr. Mary Francisca Elewodope raised the question of theological training for religious sisters. Elewodope, a second-year student in the masters of religious education program at St. Mike’s, said it has been difficult to obtain theological formation in her home country of Nigeria. Most religious sisters in Nigeria have encountered the same challenge she faced, namely the absence of a theological program for religious women, she told The Register.

Elewodope said the theology program in Lagos, Nigeria, is specifically designed for students who will enter the priesthood.

“We have to go out of the country” to get theological training, she said, adding that when she returns to her congregation in Nigeria, she hopes to use this education in her ministry.