On May 13, 2018, on the Feast of Ascension and Our Lady of Fatima, nine young men (three Filipino and six Vietnamese) were officially accepted to the Novitiate. In this way, they started their direct preparation for the first profession of vows that will be held on June 28, 2019. During this thirteen month journey,under the supervision of the Novice Master Fr. Indra Pamungkas, SCJ, they will learn many things about the nature of religious and community life, the Founder, the Congregation and most of all about the vows they will be going to profess.

The ceremony of acceptance was held in the afternoon in the the Novitiate Fr. Dehon in Lower Lucoban, Dumalinao, Zambonga del Sur. The new novices were accepted by the Superior of the SCJ Philippine Region, Fr. Lukas Hadi Siswo Sasmito, SCJ. The ceremony was attended by the members of the neighbour community in Dumalinao, Fr. Tom Cassidy from the US Province, Fr. Patro Gier working in Finland and Fr. Khoa Nguyen, the formator of Aspirants in Cagayan de Oro.