On Sunday, January 31st, the Legionaries of Christ Vinícius Marques and Piotr Krezalek took their perpetual vows in the chapel of the Center for Higher Studies in Rome. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Father Eduardo Robles-Gil, LC.During the homily, Father Eduardo, referring to the Gospel of the day’s liturgy, commented: “Deep down, to whom do we respond? To whom do we give an account of ourselves? To whom do we give an account of our lives, our actions, our consecration? We give an account to God our Lord. And that gives us profound freedom; it leaves us free in the face of the expectations of the world. We are here to serve the world, the Church, but deep down, we respond to God our Lord. He is the one who consecrated us, He is the one who separated us, and He is the one who sent us.” Later, he said: “If we wanted to respond to someone other than God our Lord, at that moment we find that we will never satisfy anyone […] When we have the company of God our Lord, when we know that at the end of the day we respond to Him, we can be perfectly at peace.”

The Apostolate Resource Centre prepared a video about religious profession. In the video, Brother Vinícius shares what religious profession means and the motivations that led him to dedicate his entire life to God.

During the Eucharistic celebration, the priests living in Rome and the brothers in formation at the General Directorate headquarters also renewed their vows out of devotion. On January 30th, they had a spiritual retreat in preparation for the renewal. Father Eduardo Robles-Gil preached the retreat to the priests. Father Eduardo focused the retreat reflections on Jesus’ question to Peter: “Do you love me more than these?” He mentioned the centrality of love for Jesus Christ in priestly and religious life and how that love spontaneously turns into love for others. He also recalled that the Year of Mercy offers a special opportunity to concretely live out love for our brothers.

Brother Piotr Konrad Krezalek was born on February 5, 1968, in Gorlice, Poland. He entered the Legion of Christ novitiate on September 15, 2008, in Cheshire (USA). He studied philosophy in Thornwood from 2010 to 2012. In 2012, he was assigned to Louisiana as a member of the auxiliary team of the youth section. At the end of his practical training, in 2013, he moved to Rome to study theology. He is currently in his final year of a bachelor’s degree in theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum.

Brother Vinícius Thiedy Marques Guidi was born on December 29, 1987, in Carmo do Rio Claro, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He met the Legion of Christ thanks to his consecrated sister from Regnum Christi and entered the vocational center in Curitiba on January 10, 2003. He received the legionary habit on March 12, 2005, in Arujá, Brazil. He completed his second year of novitiate in Salamanca, where he also studied the humanities. From 2008 to 2010, he studied a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in Rome. During his apostolic practical period, he was a formator at the vocational center in Curitiba for three years. He returned to Rome in 2013 to begin theology studies. In 2014, he went on second practical training as a member of the auxiliary team for the vocational tour in Torreón, Durango, and Saltillo (Mexico). In 2015, he returned to Rome, where he is in his second year of a bachelor’s degree in theology.