• Today Saturday, May 7th, at 10:00 AM, at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
• Ordained by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, Emeritus President of the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City
• 28 new priests from: Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Italy, France, United States, and Mexico.
• Follow the ceremony in Spanish, English, and French.
• All information on the special ordinations website
• https://ordenacionessacerdotales.legionariosdecristo.org/

Rome, May 7, 2022.- After 2 years during which the pandemic prevented the traditional priestly ordination in Rome of some members of the Legion of Christ completing their period of studies. This Saturday, May 7th, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello ordained 28 Legionaries at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome. The new priests come from: Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Italy, France, United States, and Mexico. The Legionaries of Christ, who are part of Regnum Christi along with laypeople, consecrated women, and consecrated men, undergo formation for approximately 10 to 12 years before reaching this moment.

The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ has created a website where the ceremony can be watched live in several languages, and from which one can spiritually adopt the new priests by praying for them and their priesthood.

Cardinal Bertello said in his homily, “Our joy is, above all, an expression of the joy and gratitude of the Church to the Lord for having called these young people to dedicate their lives to Him, and today they are counted among His ministers.” He mentioned the priestly prayer from the Gospel of John and, with it, reminded the future priests that “Jesus’ consecration is, above all, a separation from the world, which makes it His exclusive property, and an offering because He gives Himself to the Father, offering Himself as a victim on the Cross.” He also referred to Pope Francis’ homily during the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass: “He reminded us that we must not be bewitched by the temptation of triumphalism, success, or confine ourselves to the mentality of a mere functionary, who, instead of keeping his gaze fixed on the Cross of Jesus, rejoices in his own abilities.”
Father Savio Zanetta, L.C., rector of the theology community at the General Directorate headquarters, noted that this celebration “is like a breath of fresh air amid what we have experienced with the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the humanitarian crisis that all this has left behind. The ordinations are a visible way of how God wants to bring His word, comfort, and mercy to many people through the new priests.”

The rector of the International Legionaries of Christ College in Rome, Father Christopher Brackett, LC, referring to the newly ordained, said: “We lack words to express what we experience at each priestly ordination, the mystery, the gift, the generosity of those who are ordained, but also of their parents, who place their children’s vocation in God’s hands. Today, without a doubt, our hearts overflow with joy and happiness seeing them arrive at the altar, prostrating themselves before God to receive the ordination. A mystery of grace.”

Father John Connor, LC, General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, shared that “For me, as the general director, it fills me with hope to see these brothers of ours reach this moment. I thank God and congratulate each of them, their families, their formation directors, and I pray that the gift they receive today in the ordination bears fruit throughout their priestly ministry.”

They concelebrated alongside Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, Bishops Paolo Shiavon, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rome; Jesús Herrera Quiñónez, Bishop of Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico; Zeno Hastenteufel, Emeritus Bishop of Novo Hamburgo; João Francisco Salm, Bishop of Novo Hamburgo; Edson de Mello, Bishop of Cachoeira do Sul; Edilso Soares Nobre, Bishop of Oeiras; Francisco de Assis dos Santos Gabriel, C.SS.R., Bishop of Campo Maior; Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus, SDB, Archbishop of Quito; Andrés Gabriel Ferrada Moreira, Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, and they were assisted without concelebrating by Cardinal James Harvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and Samir Nassar, Maronite Archbishop of Damascus.

Also concelebrating the Eucharist were 150 priests.

12 years of formation: the formation path of the Legionaries of Christ
The formation path of the Legionaries of Christ before being ordained priests lasts about 12 years, during which they discern whether it is the path God wants for them. They are formed in Humanities, Philosophy, Theology, and undertake apostolic practices in different countries around the world. The key elements of their formation as an institution of the Church are outlined in a document called Ratio Institutionis, titled “Christus vita vestra.”

The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, which is part of Regnum Christi, was present in 24 countries by the end of 2021, with a stable presence, and is made up of 1,385 Legionaries of Christ: 979 priests, 329 in formation, 73 novices, and 4 bishops.