Both the directors and their territorial councils are at the service of their entire territory and seek to develop the apostolic work of the Legionaries of Christ

The General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, Father John Connor, L.C., has renewed Father Alberto Simán, L.C., as Territorial Director of Mexico and Central America for a three-year term following his first appointment in 2020.

He also renewed two territorial counselors for the same period: P. Jorge Fernández Tijerina, P. Francisco Aguilar, P. Carlos Luján, and P. Pablo Solís, with the first of them serving as territorial vicar. The new territorial government will begin its three-year term on July 1, 2023.

In a letter sent to the Legionaries of Christ working in the territory of Mexico and Central America, Father John thanked them for their participation in the consultation process and reminded them of the importance of the territorial council:

The authority of the territorial director is a service in favor of all members of his territory, which places a heavy burden and a grave responsibility on the shoulders of one person. Thanks to the council, territorial directors do not bear these burdens alone, and the talents of the counselors complement them. As the Holy Father told us in his speech at the end of the General Chapter three years ago:  Councils have a very important function, although the counselors are not superiors. In fact, councils should be a valid help for superiors in their governance, but at the same time they also have a supervisory role over the work of the superiors themselves (Pope Francis, speech to the capitular fathers, February 29, 2020).

 
He also expressed gratitude and recognition for the work of the outgoing counselors, P. Gerard Heaslip and P. Rafael Pacaníns, for their service and support in the territorial government over these past years.

The new government will have to oversee the fulfillment of the congregation’s mission: “In its mission to form apostles, Christian leaders at the service of the Church, the Legionaries make present the mystery of Christ who gathers the Apostles around Him, reveals to them the love of His heart, forms them, and sends them out to collaborate with Him in establishing His Kingdom” (Cf. CLC 4).

The territorial director has authority over all members, houses, and apostolic works of the Congregation within the territory, and must pay close personal attention to all the religious entrusted to him (Cf. CLC 182 and 186).

Father Alberto Simán, L.C., will also serve as President of the Territorial Board of Regnum Christi in the territory of Mexico and Central America, together with Lorenza Sanromán, territorial director of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and Guillermo Campillo, delegate of the General Director of the Laity of Regnum Christi, with the counsel of laypeople Teresa Alarcón and Francisco Fernández.

Brief profile of the government of the Legion of Christ in Mexico and Central America

P. Alberto José Simán Dada, L.C.

Born on June 16, 1971, in San Salvador, El Salvador. He completed his school studies with the Marists and Opus Dei in San Salvador. In 1993, he graduated as an industrial engineer from North Carolina State University in the United States and worked professionally in Miami, Florida, and San Salvador until 1998. He entered the Regnum Christi in 1997. He was a collaborator during the 98-99 course in Hermosillo, Sonora. He joined the Legion of Christ in September 1999. He made his perpetual profession on October 3, 2004, and was ordained a priest on December 22, 2007. He holds a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum.

From 2002 to 2012, he served both in the administration and as general secretary of the Congregation. From 2013 to 2015, he was assistant to the philosophers at the Legion of Christ training center in Rome, and from 2015 onward, he served as rector of that center. In November 2018, he was appointed delegate of the Territorial Director of Mexico and Central America for religious life. In July 2020, he began his first three-year term as Territorial Director in Mexico and Central America.

P. Jorge Andrés Fernández Tijerina, L.C.

Born on May 28, 1962, in Mexico City. He entered the consecrated life of Regnum Christi in 1980, and in 1981, he joined the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in Salamanca, Spain. He made his perpetual profession on September 15, 1985. After studying philosophy at the Gregorian University in Rome and theology in Salamanca, Spain, he was ordained a priest on September 17, 1992, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

From 1992 until 2016, he exercised his priestly ministry as a Novice instructor: 21 years in Monterrey, where he founded the Novitiate, and 3 years in Salamanca, Spain. Since 2016, he has been director of the men’s and professionals’ section of Regnum Christi in southern Mexico City and superior of the Fuego community since 2017. In 2020, he was appointed territorial vicar and counselor to the territorial director in Mexico and Central America.

P. Pablo Solís Aguirre, L.C.

Born in Mexico City on December 16, 1978, as the second of three siblings in a Catholic family. Before becoming a Legionary of Christ, he earned a degree in industrial engineering from Ibero-American University and worked at Procter & Gamble, Kraft, UAS, and Red Misión.

He joined the Legion of Christ in 2006 at the Novitiate in Monterrey, Mexico, where he made his first vows two years later. In 2008, he moved to Cheshire to undertake a year of humanistic studies. In 2009, he traveled to Rome to collaborate in the general secretariat of the Congregation and to obtain a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. He made his perpetual profession in 2011 in Valencia, Spain, where he collaborated until 2013 as director of the youth section of Regnum Christi. He returned to Rome to pursue theology studies and collaborate in the general secretariat of the Congregation.

He was ordained a priest on December 10, 2016, at the Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano. He began his priestly ministry in Mexico City as director of the youth section at the Universidad Anáhuac Campus Norte. Since January of this year, after the merger of the two youth sections of Poniente, he has served as director of the youth section in the Poniente locality of Regnum Christi. Since 2021, he has supported youth pastoral work in the territory. In 2020, he was appointed counselor to the territorial director in Mexico and Central America.

P. Francisco Aguilar Barrón, L.C.

Born on May 13, 1970, in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He joined the Legion of Christ in 1991 and did his novitiate in Salamanca, Spain. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology from the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. He made his perpetual profession on August 15, 1999, and was ordained a priest on December 24, 2002.

He has collaborated in the territorial secretariat of Spain, in the general administration of the Legion of Christ in Rome, as Director of the Laity’s Study Center of Regnum Christi, in vocations promotion in Mexico City, and in university pastoral work at the Universidad Anáhuac Campus Norte, where he also previously served as director of the youth section of Regnum Christi at the Universidad Anáhuac. He has been a community superior in the territory of Mexico and Central America.

P. Carlos Luján Valladolid, L.C.

Born on April 21, 1970, in Tijuana, Mexico. He entered the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1990 in Salamanca, Spain. He completed his licentiate in philosophy and theology at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum. He made his perpetual profession on August 31, 1995, and was ordained a priest on November 25, 2004, by Cardinal Frédéric Róder in Rome. His apostolic work is based on over 13 years of experience working in schools and universities. He has been a spiritual advisor, chaplain, and director of university and school pastoral care.

He has served as a counselor for various apostolates of Regnum Christi and the territorial director in Mexico. He has also collaborated in administrative areas as counselor and chaplain. He has been a community superior for 7 years. Currently, he is a spiritual advisor for the community of Lomas Anáhuac of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, counselor of Restáurame, and auxiliary member of the men’s section of Regnum Christi in Mexico City.