St. Andrew House is envisioned as a 21st-century “school of love,” dedicated to fostering virtue and discernment of vocation.
The apostle Andrew was the first to hear and accept the Lord’s calling. St. Andrew House is a Catholic community of men discerning where God is calling them to follow in his footsteps. It is governed by the following seven key principles: convocatio, convivium, commensalitas, contemplatio, collatio, commissio, and conversatio.
I. Convocatio (called together):
St. Andrew House is an intentional Catholic community of men “called together” to live in an intentional community, actively seeking to discern their ecclesial vocation, in the broadest sense of the term, whether that be to the priesthood, to religious life, or to the married state.
II. Convivium (living together):
St. Andrew House is a residential community whose members live together in an environment characterized by a shared commitment to the Church, and by mutual concern, respect, encouragement, exhortation, accountability, and above all charity.
III. Contemplatio (praying together):
St. Andrew House is centered on the Eucharist. Members take up a practice of regular communal prayer and worship, according to a daily and weekly pattern.
IV. Commensalitas (eating together):
St. Andrew practices regular table fellowship within the community. At regular times, all members participate in preparing, sharing, and cleaning after shared meals. St. Andrew house also regularly extends table fellowship to individuals, families, and groups outside the community.
V. Collatio (studying together):
St. Andrew House fosters the intellectual formation of its members through regular study, including community reading and discussion, as well as regular outside lectures and seminars.
VI. Commissio (serving together):
St. Andrew House seeks to serve the local Catholic diocese of Providence and the local Smith Hill neighborhood (as well as adjacent communities) in ways that connect the gifts, abilities, and resources of the members of St. Andrew House with the needs and wants of the local communities.
VII. Conversatio (discerning together):
By living together according to the above-noted principles, St. Andrew House seeks to foster a conversatio: a shared “way of life.” It thereby seeks to form its members to be prayerful, thoughtful Catholic men who are committed to discerning and living out their ecclesial vocation.