On May 31, 2024, it will be five years since the legal establishment of the Regnum Christi Federation. The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in its decree, indicated the approval ad experimentum of the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation for five years.
The Church thus confirmed the existence of Regnum Christi as a spiritual family with a common charism and mission that is lived among the different vocations that comprise it: Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Members of Regnum Christi, Laity Consecrated in Regnum Christi, and Associated Laity. In its letter of September 17, 2019, the first General Governing Board commented: “We cannot separate the charismatic reality of Regnum Christi from its organizational or legal dimension. This Federation […] is the form that all of us, with the approval of the Holy See, assume to better live our identity as a spiritual family and apostolic body.”
The Federation is – above all – a ‘structure of communion’ (Letter from Mons. José Rodríguez Carballo, May 31, 2019) that provides a legal, therefore concrete and – so to speak – tangible expression to ‘the unity and fraternal communion of the components of the spiritual family’ (Decree of canonical approval, May 31, 2019).
Regnum Christi finds in its Statutes the written formulation that provides the necessary guidance to all its members to respond to the personal vocation they have received. It is a guide for everyone that illuminates this journey together as a spiritual family.
The five “test” years have now concluded, and at the recent Regnum Christi General Convention, there was no need to modify the Statutes, so it will now be up to the Holy See to give its final approval.
Likewise, the General Convention has given a new apostolic impetus to Regnum Christi by announcing three apostolic priorities for the next six years:
- Promote a vocational culture.
- Commit to being and forming communities of outgoing apostles.
- Boost marriage and family pastoral care.
“The long journey traveled over these years fills us with gratitude towards those who, from the beginning, embodied the charism and towards those who contributed to its renewal and purification, even when some of them are no longer with us. Thank you!” (Final statement of the 2024 General Convention).
Congratulations to everyone who makes up the spiritual family of Regnum Christi on this 5th anniversary!
