Joseph Hoffschwelle, 26, has taken the next step toward becoming a Benedictine monk at Saint Joseph Abbey.

During a private ceremony held Sept. 13 in the Monastery Chapter Room, Hoffschwelle was accepted into the novitiate, a year that will be marked by a separation from the world and an acclimation to a new life in the monastery. During this period the novice takes classes in monastic history and spirituality and contributes to the life of the community in prayer and work. After a year in the novitiate, the novice may petition to make his first profession.

Novice Joseph, from Fort Worth, first visited Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College as a high school senior during a 2015 Seminary Come and See weekend. He then became a seminarian for the Diocese of Fort Worth, attended and graduated from St. Ben’s with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 2021, and moved on to Assumption Seminary and Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, where he studied through 2022. But he was overwhelmed with studies, missed the community here and felt a deeper call to religious life and a deep desire for work and prayer.

“After conversations with Bishop (Michael) Olson, we decided I should withdraw from seminary and discern monastic life. He told me of a Monastic Come and See at Saint Joseph Abbey in December, and after that Come and See I decided to come for a longer visit after Christmas,” he said.

He began the application process during that visit, was later accepted and entered into the postulancy phase of monastic formation during Holy Week last spring. “I am honored to be the last postulant accepted by Abbot Justin and the first novice that Abbott Gregory has received,” Novice Joseph noted.