July 1, 2010. The congregation of the Legion of Christ was born in a basement in Mexico in 1941. Its founder Marcial Maciel was only 21 years old at the time and had yet to be ordained as a priest.
The congregation was approved on June 13, 1948, by the bishop of Cuernavaca, Mexico, Alfonso Espina y Silva. The group was originally called The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Sorrows to underline Jesus' centrality in members' lives and their devotion to the Virgin. Later on the group would be renamed the Legion of Christ.
Fr. Miguel Segura
Rector, Legion of Christ Center for Superior Studies
“We emphasize this 'of Christ:' We are of Him; we are in complete with Him and we want to serve the Church with all our might and knowledge. None of us is the main actor—we all work together on a team, in a community.”
The congregation's current general director is Alvaro Corcuera. He works with the help of a council and the groups' regional directors. In each area, there is a local superior. There are currently 800 priests and 2,500 seminarians in the congregation. Maciel also founded the Regnum Christi movement in 1959 for laypeople with the same spirit.
The congregation's charism, or spirituality, is to live and make Christ's sentiments its own. And it shares that experience with others to encourage them to live the same way.
Fr. Miguel Segura
Rector, Legion of Christ Center for Superior Studies
“We've searched for Christ in many ways since joining the Legion. We search every day of our lives through concrete acts of piety, such as visiting Christ in the chapel. We live Eucharistic lives and finish most days with a half hour of prayer.”
The seminarians study Christology and Jesus as a Savior and person from a rational point of view. All the initiatives they develop have the goal of conveying the experience of Christ's love. They try to do that through a number of diverse works.
The Legionaries run high schools and universities and instruct families and youth through its Mission Youth and Mission Family programs.
Miguel Segura
Rector, Legion of Christ Center for Superior Studies
“Science has been one of our most successful fields. This work seeks to evangelize the culture through masters' degrees, such as a master's in Science and Faith. We have created a large network of scientists interested in faith who have come closer to the Church.”
The Legion's service in the arena of teaching includes educational centers on three continents.
Andrés Beltramo
Journalist, Notimex (Mexico)
“There are more than 10 universities scattered throughout the world in the Anáhuac network, which has a great presence in Mexico. They've educated hundreds, if not thousands, of youth around the world. This along with the network of schools.”
The Vatican also has entrusted the congregation with a house for pilgrims in Jerusalem and an area in a Mayan part of Mexico where they've built 300 churches.
The Legionaries emphasize their with the figure of the pope and not only with the person, a defining characteristic of the congregation. The Legion is already present in 18 countries, including Mexico, the United States and the Phillipines and its with the Holy See appears to be a defining part of its future.
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