 After considerable delay he was finally admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother on January 31, 1571, at the age of 40.The provincial is supposed to have said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he could enter to become a saint.Distinct novitiates for seminarians and lay brothers had not yet been established in Spain, and Alphonsus began his term of probation at Valencia or Gandia—this point is a subject of dispute—and after six months was sent to the recently founded college on Majorca, where he remained in the humble position of porter for 46 years, exercising a marvelous influence not only on the members of the household, but upon a great number of people who came to the porter's lodge for advice and direction.