It sometimes takes them a long time to get there. There is no longer a normal path. Everyone has his own vocation path and system of beliefs. In our dioceses many still come from very Christianoriented families, but in many other situations the seminarians come from families that are not intensely religious. Quite often the seminarians' families do not understand why anyone would want to enter a seminary or they try to prevent their children from entering a seminary.
Many people come into our seminaries with very little church experience.
They have little religious knowledge. In some countries where new church movements are very strong, candidates for the priesthood are very modern in their orientation and quite often they come out of an experience of spiritual community or the religious experience of youth groups. The number of late vocations is increasing. Many have been in other studies or have been in other careers. Many people have to learn the language of the Church before they can start to study theology.