Legionaries of Christ facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | LC |
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| Founded | January 3, 1941 |
| Founder | Marcial Maciel, LC |
| Founded at | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Type | Clerical religious congregation of pontifical right (for men) |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
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Membership (2019)
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1,455 members (970 priests) |
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Director General
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John Lane Connor, LC |
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Pontifical Assistant
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Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ |
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Parent organization
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Catholic Church |
| Website | http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/ |
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (Latin: Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC in Mexico in 1941. Maciel was also Director General of the congregation for over 60 years until forced to step down in January 2005.
The Legionaries of Christ describes itself as being made up of men "driven by the desire of Jesus' heart to set the world ablaze" and lead others to "transform their hearts, their families and their world" with "the love of Christ the King". It has been described as a "conservative" religious institute whose ability to attract large numbers of "young Catholics to religious vocations" and large financial donations once made it "a favorite" of the Vatican (New York Times); and one whose focus is on "evangelizing society's leaders ... the wealthy and powerful", in the hope that this would multiply "the beneficial impact on society" (Wall Street Journal).
The Legionaries of Christ have religious communities in 21 countries As of 2019[update]. Its members included four bishops, 970 priests and 481 seminarians (not including minor seminarians). The order is part of the Regnum Christi Federation, which is composed of Legionary of Christ priests, Consecrated Women and Men and lay members of Regnum Christi.
Contents
Affiliated groups
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men that forms part of the Regnum Christi Federation, founded by Maciel in 1959, which includes the Legionaries of Christ, the Society of Apostolic Life of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, the Society of Apostolic Life of the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and other Catholics who associate individually. Its members add the nominal letters (LC) after their names to indicate their membership in the Congregation. The "larger culture" is often referred to as "the movement" within the Regnum Christi Federation.
Ethos
Members of the Legion take vows of humility, poverty, and obedience. The vow of humility, which is not one of the 3 vows taken by all major Catholic religious institutes, obligates Legionaries not to seek positions of power within the Legion or the Church as a whole. In addition, until 2007, all Legionaries were compelled to take "private vows", never to "speak ill of Maciel or any superiors, and to report to their superiors anyone who did", a policy that impeded the discovery of wrongdoing by Maciel and other Legionary leaders, according to investigative journalist Jason Berry. This vow was lifted by the pope, and has not been taken by new Legionaries.
Love for Christ is, for Legionaries, a personal experience. Through the Gospel, the cross, and the Eucharist, Legionary spirituality teaches that the Legionary should seek to know Christ intimately, and love him in a passionate way by embracing him as their model of holiness. Their spirituality is Christ-centered with a particular emphasis on the Sacred Heart, which is the patron of the Legion, in their vocation as religious and priests.
Love for Mary is seen as arising from the imitation of Christ. In the Legion, Our Lady is venerated as both Mother of the Church and of the individual Legionary's vocation. Legionaries consecrate their spiritual and apostolic lives to her care, and seek to take on her virtues of faith, hope, charity, obedience to God, humility, and cooperation with Christ's plan of redemption and justice.
Love for Souls is defined in the Legion as an ardent desire to spread Christ's kingdom in this world. Legionaries focus on helping the greatest number of souls know and love Christ. In Legionary theology, time is a gift given by God which he wants to maximize to spread the Gospel and help bring the love of God to many souls.
Formation
According to the National Catholic Reporter, the Legion or Legionaries of Christ was founded so early in the career of Marcial Maciel, he was ordained as a priest after he was leading the order.
The Legion has been described as "conservative" and focusing on "ministering to the wealthy and powerful in the belief that by evangelizing society's leaders, the beneficial impact on society is multiplied". Today the Legion purports its priests "are the confessors and chaplains to some of the most powerful businessmen in Latin America".
Legionaries have been described as "easy to spot in Rome, young men with close-cropped hair in traditional cassocks or double-breasted blazers, walking two by two like a spiritual army." Legion culture has been described as "insular" and "cultlike".
The Legion began in Mexico where its largest base remains. It is said to have created "a vast network" of private schools and universities for the children of the elite in that country, which provided funding for his movement’s worldwide expansion. Houses of formation were established in Spain and Italy within its first decade. In the 1960s, chapters of the organization were founded in Ireland and then in the United States. In the 1970s and 80s the congregation expanded throughout Latin America. In the 90s it expanded to France and Central Europe.
The Legion presents itself as dedicated to advancing the Church's mission in the world, and to this end claims to submit candidates to a rigorous formation of four dimensions: human, spiritual, intellectual, and apostolic. Critics accused the Legion of producing priests and religious who all spoke and behaved in the same way. The Legion's defenders argued that, just as members of a family receive similar upbringing, so the members of the Legion were formed in like ways, but still respected the freedom of the individual. The new constitutions approved by Pope Francis present a more balanced approach to the formation of members.
As is the practice in many religious congregations of the Roman Catholic Church, Legionaries may visit their family according to their superiors' discretion and the norms of the Congregation, the average being for about 4–7 days a year not counting special occasions. Regular contact with their families is encouraged with respect to written, verbal, and video communication.
Apostolates
The apostolate of the Legionaries (i.e. organizations "directed to serving and evangelizing the world") has many aspects, but focuses on the following:
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- Education and teaching at all levels.
- Pastoral attention to youth and families.
- Catechesis and preaching of retreats and spiritual exercises.
- Evangelization and mission work (especially in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo in the Yucatán Peninsula).
- Attention to the underprivileged, especially those groups that undergo the greatest spiritual, moral or material privation.
- Works of Christian charity and mercy.
- Supporting bishops in the formation of diocesan seminarians and in the ongoing formation of their priests.
- Spiritual attention to Regnum Christi members and accompanying them in their formation.
In the US, the congregation runs four schools. In 2012, all three of its high schools (Everest Collegiate High School, The Highlands School and Pinecrest Academy) were named in the list of top 50 Catholic High Schools developed by the Cardinal Newman Society.
In Mexico, the Legionaries administer the Anahuac University Network. Legionaries operate centers of education (minor seminaries, seminaries, schools and/or universities) in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Korea, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the United States, and Canada.
In 2006, the Legion launched a test phase of Mission Network in the United States. Catholic Mission Network, Inc., is the umbrella organization that oversees and approves Legionary-endorsed apostolates that are not stand-alone like a school or retreat center. Its purpose is to provide both structure and supervision of the apostolates, and an overview as to what the Legion/Regnum Christi does as a whole, with brand-name-type recognition.
The youth wing of Regnum Christi, offering spirituality for youth 11 to 16, is called ECYD. The commitments in ECYD vary over time, adapting to the ages of the members. Many ECYD members are involved in clubs run or overseen by Legionaries or consecrated members of Regnum Christi.
Founder
Marcial Maciel was born in Cotija, Michoacán on March 10, 1920, into a devout Catholic family—four of his uncles were bishops—during a time in which the Mexican government was fiercely anticlerical. He became a priest after a troubled youth. Maciel was expelled from two seminaries for reasons that have never been explained, and became a priest only after one of his bishop uncles ordained him after private studies.
Maciel was ordained a priest on November 26, 1944, in Mexico City, but had already founded the congregation in 1941, with the support of Francisco González Arias, Bishop of Cuernavaca. Two years later in 1946, he presented a donation to the Vatican for $10,000, “a huge sum in a city reeling from the war.”
Pope John Paul II praised him in lavish ceremonies and called him an "efficacious guide to youth". In general, the Holy See held Maciel "up as a model of sainthood for the faithful" in large part "because he brought in money and vocations to the priesthood."
In the Legion of Christ, Maciel was called "nuestro padre". Members of the congregation were taught "the Legion message"—that Maciel "had his enemies, but that he was a living saint for his leadership as an evangelist, drawing the church back from liberal abuses of the Second Vatican Council and attracting young men to a strict religious life."
Maciel died in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 30, 2008, aged 87, and was buried in his hometown of Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán, Mexico. Immediately following Maciel's death, the Legion's leaders proclaimed "his ascent to heaven".
Renewal
The Legion underwent a visitation by the Vatican and a process of renewal through a series of discussions revolving around the charism of the movement, the relationship of the congregation to the lay movement, and the place of both within the Church.
In 2006, Maciel was investigated by the Holy See and suspended from his ministry. The Legion's additional vow of "charity" had been used to induce secrecy, promising not to criticize superiors. This was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in December 2007.
Cardinal Velasio De Paolis was delegated to examine the Legionaries' constitutions and conduct a visitation of its lay affiliate Regnum Christi in 2012. On October 19, 2012, De Paolis published a cover letter for a summary of the Regnum Christi's charism which he had approved as a working document.
Under the guidance of Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the congregation announced the congregation's Extraordinary General Chapter in Rome in January 2014, for a "total restructuring". In 2019, new statutes were adopted introducing collegial leadership and more transparent community life.
The Legion completed a five-year renewal process that included a revision of its constitutions, which were approved during an extraordinary general chapter. The entire congregation revised the Constitutional document under the direction of a central committee and presented a final version to the new Pope Francis. On 4 November 2014, after an extensive process of the reform of the Legionaries of Christ, the Vatican approved the congregation's amended constitutions.
10 years after the Holy See took over the Legion, in an address directed to Legionaries during their General Chapter of 2020 and to the General Assemblies of Regnum Christi held during the same period, Pope Francis recognized the progress made in their renewal saying: "The new Constitutions and the new Statutes are truly 'new,' be it because they reflect a new spirit and a new vision of religious life, consistent with Vatican Council II and the directions of the Holy See, be it because they are the product of a three-year endeavor, in which all your communities were involved and which has led to a change in mentality."
Notable members
- Deomar De Guedes Vaz (born 1961), second general councilor
- Anthony Freeman (1988 – 2018), religious brother
- Fernando Vérgez Alzaga (born 1945), president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, since 2021 (cardinal in 2022)
See also
- ECYD
- Regnum Christi
- Regnum Christi Consecrated Men
- Regnum Christi Consecrated Women
Further viewing
Films
- Erffa, Zita: "The Best Thing You Can Do with Your Life", Documentary, 93 min, Germany/ Mexiko 2018, Director: Zita Erffa, DOP: Bruno Santamaría, Production: Petruvski Films in Coproduction with Ojo de Vaca und HFF München, supported by the CCC Mexiko. Premiere: Berlinale 2018. In Mexican cinemas from: 9.th of November 2019: Cineteca Nacional.
