ABSTRACT
Public reaction to enclosed convents has tended to obfuscate discussion about religious vocations and has often led to pre-judged discussion of the entry process. This chapter looks at the process of joining English convents in order to consider questions of free will, vocation and the role of senior members of the convents in the selection process. Scholarly research and writing on the English convents in exile has focused (naturally enough) on the members who entered, professed and lived the rest of their lives in the particular convent they selected when they first decided to enter. This was the experience of the majority, although some moved into daughter houses after profession and a small minority transferred to a different Order before finally settling and finding their spiritual home. Evidence of awareness by leaders of the English convents of their responsibilities when agreeing to candidates can be seen in advisory texts created for their use.
