Spiritual Formation Assessment

Formation directors are more likely than any of the other individuals or groups listed to have a role in spiritual formation assessment.

Please indicate whether the following have a role
in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Percent responding "Yes"

Formation director 48%
Academic faculty 40%
Formation faculty 38%
Academic adviser 38%
Formation team 30%
Peer evaluation 26%
Spiritual director 16%

Nearly half of all programs report that formation directors have a role in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates. As the table below shows, however, the percentage is considerably higher among those that indicate that they have a formal spiritual formation assessment process.

Academic faculty, formation faculty, and academic advisers have a role in spiritual formation assessment in about 40 percent of the programs while a formation team has such a role in 30 percent of the programs.


Type of Program

The formation director has a role in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates in more than half of diocesan programs, two-thirds of independent programs, and three-fourths of seminary/school of theology programs.

Please indicate whether the following have a role
in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Percent responding "Yes"

Diocesan College Seminary CPE Independent
Formation director 56% 26% 75% 36% 67%
Formation faculty 52% 27% 38% 33% 25%
Formation team 38% 11% 46% 22% 6000%
Academic faculty 34% 52% 46% 30% 43%
Peer evaluation 29% 20% 10% 80% 25%
Academic adviser 21% 51% 70% 13% 43%
Spiritual director 16% 16% 24% 11% 13%

  • Academic advisers are more likely to have a role in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates in programs at academic institutions.


  • Peer evaluation is considerably more likely in CPE programs than in other types of programs.

Programs that require formation directors or spiritual directors as part of the program are much more likely to include these individuals in the process for assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Please indicate whether the following have a role
in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Percent responding "Yes"

Diocesan College Seminary CPE Independent
Formation director 87% 77% 90% 100% 100%
Spiritual director 42% 36% 55% 0% 0%


Programs with Formal Spiritual Formation

Among programs that have a formal spiritual formation component, two in three say that the formation director is the one who assesses the spiritual formation of candidates.

Please indicate whether the following have a role
in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Percent responding "Yes"

Formation director 66%
Formation faculty 51%
Academic faculty 47%
Academic adviser 44%
Formation team 43%
Peer evaluation 29%
Spiritual director 24%

  • About half of the programs that have a formal spiritual formation component enlist their formation faculty in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.


  • Peers evaluation is included in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates by about one in three programs that have a formal spiritual formation component.


  • The input of the candidate's spiritual director is included in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates by less than a quarter of those programs that have a formal spiritual formation component.


Programs with a Spiritual Formation Assessment Process

Among programs that have a formal spiritual formation assessment process, the formation director has a role in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates in more than two-thirds of those programs.

Please indicate whether the following have a role
in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates.

Percent responding "Yes"

Formation director 69%
Formation faculty 59%
Formation team 53%
Academic faculty 49%
Academic adviser 42%
Peer evaluation 42%
Spiritual director 32%

Formation personnel - formation directors, formation faculty, or formation teams - are the ones most likely to have a role in assessing the spiritual formation of candidates in programs that have some sort of assessment process.

Academic personnel - academic faculty or academic advisers - have a role in spiritual formation assessment in a little less than half of the programs.

Email us at flwymail@usccb.org
Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women & Youth | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.





Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life & Youth l 3211 4th Street, NE, Washington DC 20017-1194 l (202) 541-3040 © USCCB. All rights reserved.