Back Legió de Crist Catalan Legionäre Christi German Legionarios de Cristo Spanish Kristuksen legioona Finnish Légion du Christ French Legio Christi Hungarian Legionari di Cristo Italian 그리스도의 레지오 수도회 Korean Congregatio Legionariorum Christi Latin Legionairs van Christus Dutch
 | This article may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. The specific problem is: The article, and lead in particular, gives undue weight to the organization's controversies, compared to relatively little about its work and other history (November 2023) |
Latin: Congregatio Legionariorum Christi | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | LC |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Membership (2019) | 1,455 members (970 priests) |
Director General | John Lane Connor, LC |
Pontifical Assistant | Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
| Website | http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/ |
| [1] | |
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (Latin: Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also sometimes referred to as the Legion of Christ) is a congregation of papal right. It is made up of priests, deacons and brothers in formation for the priesthood.
The Legionaries of Christ are 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".[2] 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);[3] 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).[4]
The Legionaries of Christ are part of the Regnum Christi Federation. The Regnum Christi Federation is made up of Legionary of Christ priests, Consecrated Women and Men and lay members of Regnum Christi. [5]
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).[6]
The Congregation was established by Marcial Maciel in Mexico in 1941. Maciel was also Director General of the congregation for over 60 years until forced to step down in January 2005 as a result of a scandal.[7] In 2019, the congregation published an extensive report on abuse related to it. The Director General John Connor has said that responding to these sexual abuses is an important part of the mission of the congregation.
- ^ "Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (L.C.)". GCatholic. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "About Us". Regnum Christi. Legionaires of Christ. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
denounce-nyt-7-2-2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ de Coacuterdoba, Jose (23 January 2006). "With Elite Backing, A Catholic Order Has Pull in Mexico". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ CNA. "Pope Francis meets with Legionaries of Christ leader". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ "Statistics of the Legionaries of Christ as of December 31, 2016". regnumchristi.org. Regnum Christi. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ Pullella, Philip (December 21, 2019). "Legionaries founder sexually abused 60 boys, religious order's report says". Reuters.
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