Rome, 1950: the nearly completed building of the Collegium Maximum Legionariorum Christi, future headquarters of the general direction of the Congregation.
The general direction
and the territorial directions
Rome, May 10, 1952: moment of the priestly ordination of Fr. José María Escribano, LC, the first Legionary to be ordained in the chapel of the Collegium Maximum Legionariorum Christi.
October 22, 1951
The General Direction
Since 1952, the General House of the Legionaries of Christ has been located at Via Aurelia, 677 (formerly 643) in Rome. It was built between 1949 and 1950 by the Castelli company, trusted architects of the Holy See, and was designed by architect Gianni Mazzocca, who later went on to design the adjacent church dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The building displays characteristics typical of the Italian rationalist architectural style of the 20th century. This style was later adopted for other buildings of the Congregation, such as the Novitiate in Salamanca, Spain, the International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae, the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and the Higher Studies Center in Rome.
The Legionary communities arrived from Spain to live in this house in November 1950, and the chapel was inaugurated on Christmas Eve of that year. The altar was consecrated by Mons. Luigi Traglia, vicegerent of the Vicar of Rome, on October 22, 1951. Mons. Traglia, who was named a cardinal in 1960, also presided over the first priestly ordination of a Legionary here, that of Fr. José María Escribano, on May 10, 1952.
In December 1952, with the change in diocesan jurisdiction from Cuernavaca to Rome, this building became the General Curia of the Congregation. It has received visits from two popes: on December 17, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited the chapel to pray at the feet of his friend Cardinal Antonio Riberi, Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, who had recently passed away. Pope John Paul II visited on January 27, 1980, following his pastoral visit to the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Two plaques placed on either side of the chapel door commemorate these historical events.
Beginning in the early 1980s, the General Curia changed its name to become the Headquarters of the General Direction, as it took on the role of the operational and administrative heart of the Regnum Christi Movement. At this time, a community called “of the General Direction” was also created, bringing together those who collaborate in the various offices of the general government.
April 26, 1981
The territorial directions
As the Congregation grew, other organizations were formed to lead specific geographical areas. In the Legion of Christ, these areas are called territories, rather than provinces as used by other religious congregations. For a period, roughly from 1970 to 1980, they were called delegations. The first legionary to hold the position of delegate of the superior general during that period was Father Rafael Arumí, LC.
Between 1980 and 1983, that is, immediately after the celebration of the first ordinary General Chapter and before the approval of the Constitutions, a period of transition occurred in terminology. In 1980, a second zone was created, which adopted the name territory instead of delegation, even though the terminology prescribed by the current Constitutions was delegation. This marked an important step in the institutionalization process of the Congregation.
On April 26, 1981, the feast of the territorial director was celebrated in Salamanca for the first time. Later, other territories have been created, abolished, or merged according to the needs of the Congregation. The 2014 Constitutions granted more powers to the territorial directors, who, for example, now make decisions about admission to the Legion and for temporary professions.
The capitular fathers of the recent extraordinary General Chapter deemed it appropriate to ask the territorial directors and the general director to “analyze the procedures and establish the general and territorial criteria for the consolidation and expansion of territories and communities, for the common good and the sustainability of the territories, houses, and works.”
Rome, November 17, 1967: Moment of prayer by Pope Paul VI at the mortal remains of Cardinal Antonio Riberi in the chapel of the General House on Via Aurelia.
Mexico City, 1983: Father Octavio Acevedo, LC, first territorial director of Mexico, during the Eucharistic blessing on the occasion of the territorial director’s feast.
This section has been taken from the publication «Historia Institucional de la Congregación de los Legionarios de Cristo y del Movimiento Regnum Christi» (2015), prepared by the General Historical Archive of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi and published on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Congregation.
Published originally in Spanish and Italian.
Texts: Salvatore Luciano Bonventre | Translations: Fr. Gonzalo Franco, LC | Selection of photographs: Salvatore Luciano Bonventre and Luigi Baldassarri | Coordination: Fr. Jaime Rodríguez, LC and Fr. Rodrigo Ramírez, LC