Rome: Regnum Christi Chooses ‘Collegial’ Form of Government

Regnum Christi on December 6, 2018, asked the Holy See to be recognized canonically as a federation, formed and governed collegially by the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, with a consultative vote of the laity, who will be individually associated with the Federation.

This is how the path that Regnum Christi, guided by the Holy See since 2010, has reached its conclusion, providing itself with a juridical form appropriate to its reality, and Statutes that are now presented to the Holy See so that the corresponding ecclesiastical authorities can evaluate them and request the amendments they consider necessary for its final approval.

The General Statutes express the meeting point of the discernment that the four vocations of Regnum Christi have made together during the process of renewal with regard to their charism and common mission, spirituality, members, organization and government. It has been a participatory and global process in which all Regnum Christi members from the four vocations that make up this ecclesial reality have been involved since 2010, some 22,000 from among the Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women, Lay Consecrated Men, and Lay Members of Regnum Christi. The last step was the Extraordinary General Assembly of Regnum Christi, the Chapter, and the General Assemblies held from November 19th to December 6th in Rome.

The words with which Mons. Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, addressed the Assembly at the end of the inaugural Mass of the General Assembly resonated with and guided the work of these weeks: “Congratulations, and may Regnum Christi continue working from this moment, if possible with even greater strength as a family united in Christ and in the same charism. Always count on each other, and on the help of Mother Church who will certainly give you her hand as she has given it to you from the beginning always and everywhere… No one among you can develop his mission in isolation… I will always repeat: ‘Be United!’ The charism is one, although the ways of developing it and living it are diverse.”

The General Director of Regnum Christi, Fr. Eduardo Robles-Gil, LC, at the beginning of the General Assembly, affirmed that the Statutes “are one more step towards ecclesial maturity. They mean that we are going forward, towards a greater ecclesial and charismatic fulfillment.”

The result of the renewal process represents a real step forward in the self-understanding of Regnum Christi, and there are “several concrete signs that will gradually unfold,” which are included in the Statutes, explained the General Assembly in its final message.

It has been determined that a federation of coordination and direction is the most appropriate canonical form for Regnum Christi, and means “giving it a more solid canonical configuration than that of the Statutes of 2004 and more in accordance with Regnum Christi’s charismatic reality,” explained the General Assembly in its final message.

The collegiality of the government of the Federation represents an advance and expression of a renewed form of the exercise of authority in the service of the common mission of Regnum Christi. It shows the spirit of communion and the complementarity of vocations, respecting the autonomy of each vocation.

The governing body will be called the General Directive College of the Regnum Christi Federation. It will be formed by the directors of the three consecrated vocations – the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi – and by two lay people with a consultative voice and vote.

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