“The Congregation is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows, acknowledges Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Paul the Apostle as its heavenly patrons, and invokes Saint Joseph, spouse of Mary, and Saint Michael the Archangel as its special protectors”.
Our spirituality
Legion of Christ is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 7.
Heavenly Patrons
Special Protectors
The Spirit of the Congregation
Christ-centeredness
“Christ-centeredness constitutes the fundamental and specific characteristic of the Legionary spirit. Therefore, aided by God’s grace, Legionaries should strive to make Christ Jesus the center, standard and example of their lives as religious, priests and apostles. They ought to seek to know, love and experience him intimatelyabove all in the Gospel, the Eucharist and the Cross, and strive to imitate him in a special way through self giving to their neighbor”.
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 8.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
“In the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Legionary has a privileged path to form a meek and humble priestly heart and to spread Christ’s Kingdom throughout the world (see Matthew 11:28-30). In Christ’s Heart, he encounters God’s merciful love which moves him to embrace the cross in his own life, make reparation for sins and give himself in service to others”.
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 9.
Charity, the heart of the Legion’s spirit
“The heart of the Legion’s spirit is charity, which entails universal, considerate self giving to one’s neighbor. Therefore, Legionaries are to foster a creative, self-sacrificing attitude of service, treat others with goodness and simplicity, learn to be merciful with their neighbor’s weakness, praise what is good, reject envy and avoid backbiting and gossip”.
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 10.
The Kingdom of Christ
Building up the Kingdom of Christ is the ideal that inspires and directs the Congregation. Its motto “Thy Kingdom Come!” (Matthew 6:10) expresses this longing. Therefore, Legionaries should:
- in their personal lives, delve into the richness of their baptismal consecration so that Christ reign in their lives through their progressive transformation into him;
- allow Christ’s love for mankind to imbue their very selves and seek to have him reign in the hearts of all people;
- in light of eternity and reflecting on the brevity of life, ponder the value of each soul and the urgency of the mission.
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 11.
Contemplative and evangelizing
A Legionary has a contemplative and evangelizing spirit:
- by their contemplative nature, Legionaries seek prayer, union with God, silence and reflection, and give pre-eminence to God’s action in their sanctification and in their apostolate;
- by their evangelizing nature, they give themselves with passionate love and zeal to the task of announcing the Kingdom and bringing the light of the Gospel to the whole world.
— The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, 12.
The Holy Spirit, consoler and delightful guest of the soul, is the craftsman of our transformation into Christ and sustains us in the mission of building up the Kingdom.
Therefore, Legionaries should foster an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, pray for his gifts and for an increase in the theological virtues, and be docile to his inspirations in order to walk the path of God’s will faithfully
Since the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ and the presence of his Kingdom in the world, the Legion of Christ has meaning only within the Church, for the sake of the Church and by reason of the human and supernatural mission of the Church.
Therefore, Legionaries are to:
- love the Church passionately, identify with her joys and sufferings, give themselves to the Church in an attitude of service and live deeply aware of their mission within her;
- adhere to the Roman Pontiff with filial love, study and spread his teachings, put into practice not only his commands but also his directives, promote his initiatives and courageously defend the charism of his primacy and magisterium;
- in a spirit of faith, respect the bishops as successors of the Apostles, collaborate with them, and live in fraternal communion with the presbyterate.
Mary is the consummate example and most eloquent witness of the new creature arising from the redemptive power of Christ and was given to us as our mother while she stood by the cross (see John 19: 25–27).
Therefore Legionaries ought to:
- love her tenderly as sons and grow in devotion to her, expressed especially by imitating her virtues;
- entrust their apostolic life to her because, as Mother and Queen of the Apostles, she took part in a unique way in the Savior’s work and is an example of the maternal love which should animate all those in the Church who cooperate in the redemption of mankind.
Aware that Christ has loved them first and called them to follow him, Legionaries are to hold their vocation in the highest regard. They should grow in love for it and, to live it to the full, embrace wholeheartedly the Legion and Regnum Christi, and their spirit, style of self-giving and specific apostolate. A Legionary ought to consider himself a living, active part of this large family, contributing his particular gifts to the mission entrusted to it.
Gathered into one large family by Christ and united by a common vocation, Legionaries should foster esprit de corps and oneness of heart. They should promote communion and collaboration among the components of Regnum Christi.