The new Legionary priests underwent 12 years of formation and apostolic practice and are beginning a pastoral stage of service to the Church and the world.

This Saturday, April 29th, 29 Legionaries were ordained priests at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome, a ceremony celebrated by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, LC, President of the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City and the Governatorate of Vatican City. The new priests, who have reached this moment after more than 12 years of formation, come from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Chile, South Korea, El Salvador, Spain, the United States, Italy, Mexico, and Venezuela. 

Ricardo Calzada Garay, Andrés José Poblete Madrid, Aarón Ríos Galindo, Alán Israel Ríos Galindo, Luke Matthew Gill, Saúl Alejandro Gutiérrez Carrillo, Joel Alberto Ruiz Villarreal, Joseph Marc André Blanchette, Michael Canzian, Josef Oscar Babuin, José Gustavo Cerros Rodríguez, Miguel Agustín Esponda Sada, Manuel José Frutos Jiménez, César Alejandro Gálvez Acosta, Min Ho (Stephen) Cho, Rodrigo Fernández de Castro de León, José Eduardo Gorocica Rangel, Pablo Lorenzo-Penalva del Pozo, Carlos Javier Ruiz Silva, Matthew Bridgeman Bender, Celso Júlio da Silva, Brasile Flávio Lopes de Oliveira, Brasile Carlos Valenzuela Aguilar, João Paulo Jäger, Christian José Ivandic, Markus Stehmer, Sérgio Rafael Mourão da Silva, Thomas Edward White, and Salvador Alejandro Arellano Gutiérrez are the new priests who will serve the Church.

Father John Connor, LC, General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, shared that “as General Director, I am filled 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 ordination may bear fruit throughout their priestly ministry.”

Father Savio Zanetta, LC, rector of the theology community at the General Directorate headquarters, noted that …“As rector, it is a joy to see these brothers who, after several years of seeking the face of the Lord, following Him as disciples, have finally come to unite with the Lord in a special way through the sacrament of ordination. Especially during this Easter period, when we celebrate that the Lord is alive, and when the liturgy reminds us of this great hopeful reality that the Lord is among us. This is our wish: that they also become instruments to bring people closer as pontiffs between God and men, to bring the living God, the Lord who is among us, to so many souls. For this, we also entrust their perseverance and fervor to the Virgin Mother of God, so that she may accompany and guide them in their priestly ministry.”

On his part, the rector of the International Legionaries of Christ College in Rome, Father Ignacio Sarre, LC, referring to the newly ordained, said that “It is a blessing that our brothers receive the gift of the priesthood surrounded by their blood families, the Regnum Christi family, and so many friends, because priesthood only makes sense in communion with other vocations. We are priests for them and walk with them in faith.”

Father Christopher Brackett, LC, former rector of the International College, who accompanied some of the newly ordained in their final years of formation, stated that “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 entrust their children’s vocation into God’s hands. Today, without a doubt, our hearts overflow with joy and happiness seeing them arrive at the altar, prostrating before God to receive ordination. A mystery of grace.”

In his homily, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, LC, reminded the candidates that the identity of the priest according to the Heart of Christ is based on the awareness of being chosen by God from among men to continue His work of redemption among their brothers and sisters in the world. He also emphasized being instruments of divine mercy, so that through the Eucharist and the sacraments, salvation wrought by Christ through His Passion, death, and resurrection may reach the world. He concluded by recommending that they always carry the Cross and the presence of the Virgin Mary throughout their lives.

They concelebrated with Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, LC, along with Bishops Brian Farrell, LC, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians; Rolandas Makrickas, Titular Bishop of Tolentino; Faustino Armendáriz, Bishop of Durango; Juan María Huerta, OFM, Prelate Bishop of El Salto. More than 150 priests also concelebrated the Eucharist. 

After the ceremony, the newly ordained shared moments with their families and the community at the International College of the Legionaries of Christ.

More than a decade of formation to be ordained as priests 

The formation path of the Legionaries of Christ before being ordained priests lasts 12 years, during which they discern whether it is the path God desires for them. They are formed in Humanities, Philosophy, Theology, and undertake apostolic practices in different countries around the world.

By the end of 2022, the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, which is part of Regnum Christi, is composed of 1,338 Legionaries: 4 bishops, 993 priests, 281 religious in formation, and 59 novices. 

Additionally, the Congregation is permanently present in 21 countries. It is organized into 9 territories and 2 delegations. It has 10 headquarters for general or territorial governance, 89 apostolic communities, a philosophical institute, 2 theological institutes, a community of priest students in Rome, a humanities center in the United States, 5 novitiates, and 9 vocational centers. 

It has an International Pontifical Seminary in Rome and an Interdiocesan Seminary and Theological Institute in São Paulo, Brazil.