The novitiate , also called the noviciate , is the period of training and preparation that a Christian novice (or prospective ) monastic , apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to vowed religious life. It often includes times of intense study, prayer , living in community, studying the vowed life, deepening one's relationship with God , and deepening one's self-awareness. The canonical time of the novitiate is one year; in case of additional length, it must not be extended over two years. In the Eastern Orthodox Church , the novitiate is officially set at three years before one may be tonsured a monk or nun, though this requirement may be waived. The novitiate is in any case a time both for the novice to get to know the community and the community to get to know the novice. The novice should aspire to deepening their relationship to God and discovering the community's charism . The novitiate in many communities includes a concentrated program of prayer, study, reflection and limited ministerial engagement.
14-604: The Georgetown University Astronomical Observatory (also the Heyden Observatory and Francis J. Heyden Observatory ) was founded in 1841 by Father James Curley of the Department of Physics at Georgetown College . Father Curley chose a site on the college grounds, planned the building, and supervised its construction to its completion in 1844. Costs were initially paid by Rev. Thomas Meredith Jenkins, S.J., and Rev. Charles H. Stonestreet , S.J., who were Georgetown professors at
28-605: A teacher in his native town. He left Ireland in his youth, arriving in Philadelphia on 10 October 1817. Here he worked for two years as a bookkeeper and then taught mathematics at Frederick, Maryland . In 1826 he became a student at the old seminary in Washington, DC , intending to prepare himself for the Catholic priesthood , and at the same time taught one of its classes. The seminary, however, which had been established in 1820,
42-619: Is a monarch butterfly waystation. In 1989, as part of GU's bicentennial celebration, Professor Donald M. Spoon, who had a lab in the Observatory at the time, organized the dedication of the garden. Father Heyden attended the ceremony. At the time, the garden was full of hundreds of iris species and cultivars, including new ones that Professor Spoon had bred. Currently, Observatory Hill likely has thousands of species of archaens, bacteria, and eurkaryans, including animals, fungi, plants, and protistans. About 20 pollinator species regularly visit flowers on
56-404: Is begun, is arranged so that the novices better understand their divine vocation, and indeed one which is proper to the institute, experience the manner of living of the institute, and form their mind and heart in its spirit, and so that their intention and suitability are tested. In some novitiate communities, mostly monastic, the novice often wears clothing that is distinct from secular dress but
70-454: Is not the full habit worn by professed members of the community. The novices' day normally includes participation in the canonical hours , manual labor, and classes about the religious life. Spiritual exercises and tests of humility are common features of a novitiate. A superior should ideally appoint an experienced member of the community to serve as novice master or mistress. Different religious communities have varying requirements for
84-559: The Hill. Currently the observatory is operated and maintained by the Georgetown University Astronomical Society. James Curley (astronomer) James Curley (26 October 1796 – 24 July 1889) was an Irish-American astronomer . Curley was born at Athleague , County Roscommon , Ireland . His early education was limited, though his talent for mathematics was discovered, and to some extent developed, by
98-588: The Naval Observatory, and it was not until after the laying of the first transatlantic cable in 1858 that his determination was found to be near the truth. Curley was also much interested in botany . He is best remembered, however, as a teacher. He wrote Annals of the Observatory of Georgetown College, D.C., containing the description of the observatory and the description and use of the transit instrument and meridian circle (New York, 1852). Novitiate The novitiate, through which life in an institute
112-488: The Observatory was used by the Georgetown University Astronomical Society and the Department of Biology. Light pollution from surrounding Washington, D.C. , has limited viewing celestial bodies from the location. On July 2, 1973, the Observatory was designated as a U.S. national landmark National Register of Historic Places . The Georgetown University Astronomical Society has, with support of Department of Physics and Georgetown University, periodically sponsored renovation of
126-512: The Observatory, which was primarily used by the Laboratory of Entomology and Biodiversity directed by Professor Edward M. Barrows in 1996-2023. The Heyden Memorial Garden is on the east and north sides of the observatory. The garden has a conservation garden with native species; formal gardens; ponds with fish, frogs, water plants, and other biota; and trees including American beech, crapemyrtle, eastern redcedar, and English oak. The conservation garden
140-478: The duration of the novitiate. The novice must complete a postulancy before being admitted to the novitiate, the duration of which can be short or extend up to three years. A novice is free to leave the novitiate at any time and in most communities, the superiors are free to dismiss them with or without cause. At the end of the novitiate, the novices are either admitted to temporary vows or asked to leave. The binding, life-long commitment to consecrated life comes at
154-493: The remainder of his life at Georgetown, where he taught natural philosophy and mathematics for forty-eight years. He planned and superintended the building of the Georgetown Observatory in 1844 and was its first director, filling this position for many years. One of his earliest achievements was the determination of the latitude and longitude of Washington, D.C. in 1846. His results did not agree with those obtained at
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#1733085737847168-503: The time. The observatory was used in 1846 to determine the latitude and longitude of Washington, D.C. , which Curley determined to be latitude 38°54′26N and longitude 5818.29 (west of Greenwich). In 1850, Benedict Sestini used the Observatory to make a series of sunspot drawings , which were engraved and published (44 plates) as "Appendix A" of the Naval Observatory volume for 1847, printed in 1853. In 1888, Johann Georg Hagen
182-621: Was closed in the following year and he joined the Society of Jesus on 29 September 1827. After completing his novitiate he again taught in Frederick and was sent in 1831 to teach natural philosophy at Georgetown University . He also studied theology and was ordained priest on 1 June 1833. His first Mass was said at the Georgetown Visitation Monastery , Georgetown , where he afterwards acted as chaplain for fifty years. He spent
196-423: Was named director. He was responsible for the installation of the 12-inch equatorial telescope with which for twenty years he observed and gathered data on variable stars. This instrument is still in continuous use. In 1928, Paul McNally became director. Francis J. Heyden, S.J. became director in 1945, and continued research into solar eclipses . In 1972, Georgetown University closed its Department of Astronomy, and
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