- The Pope expressed his joy at receiving the priests at the final stage of the Chapter.
- This meeting with the Holy Father encourages the Congregation to continue its journey of renewal and service to the Church.
- Fr. Carlos Gutiérrez, L.C., the new Director General, attended along with his council and the Chapter Fathers.
Vatican City, February 19, 2026 – Pope Leo XIV received the General Chapter of the Legionaries of Christ in a private audience this morning in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace. Also present were Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, L.C., President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and Archbishop Brian Farrell, L.C., Secretary Emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
There, Father Carlos Gutiérrez, L.C., the new Director General of the Congregation, reiterated the Legion of Christ’s love and devotion to the Holy Father. He also presented the Pope with an image of Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the congregation.
Credit: @VaticanMedia
Initially, the Pope referred to the joy of this gathering in the final phase of the General Chapter. “As in the life of every religious institute, this is a time of grace, since it constitutes a privileged moment of communal discernment and of listening to the Holy Spirit, who continues to guide its history and sustain the mission entrusted to its congregation, in fidelity to the charism received as a gift from God for the whole Church.”
Credit: @VaticanMedia
He indicated that “this is also an opportunity for you to recognize yourselves as heirs to a charism that, through diverse paths and historical expressions—sometimes painful and not without crises—has given rise to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, united by the same spiritual root and a common apostolic passion. This shared memory does not look only to the past, but also impels constant renewal in the present, faithful to the Gospel.”
Leo XIV also made special mention of the charism, affirming that “it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Each institute and each of its members are called to embody it personally and in community, in a continuous process of deepening their own identity, which situates and defines them within the Church and society.”
He pointed out that “this path, in turn, constitutes a valuable contribution to the Church as a whole and, in a particular way, to the spiritual family of Regnum Christi.”
In his text, the Holy Father also referred to three essential aspects: authority, consecrated life, and mission. He indicated that “consecrated life, called to be expert in communion, creates spaces where the Gospel is translated into concrete fraternity. During these days, you have undoubtedly experienced a concrete communion among brothers and sisters of diverse cultures and realities, of different generations, and between those who exercise responsibilities of governance and those who serve daily in communities and missions.”
Credit: @VaticanMedia
He also affirmed that “your mission consists in offering this visible witness of mutual listening and jointly seeking God’s will, both for your communities and for those you encounter along the way as you carry out your mission.”
At the end of the audience, the Holy Father imparted the Apostolic Blessing to the Chapter Fathers, which he extended to all the Legionaries of Christ. The Pope also greeted each of the Legionaries who attended the audience.
This meeting with Pope Leo XIV is one of the most significant moments of the General Chapter, encouraging them to continue along the path of conversion, renewal, and evangelizing work in service to the Church. It provides further motivation to respond authentically to the challenges of our times, which demand humility and fidelity to the mission the Lord has entrusted to each Legionary.
For Father Carlos Gutiérrez, L.C., Director General of the Legion, the Audience with the Holy Father was a moment of great grace for the Legion.
“This audience has been a moment of grace for all of us. The Successor of Peter confirms us in the faith and helps us to put Christ at the center of our lives, to live in a more evangelical and authentic way, to go out and meet those who most need to experience the love of Christ,” commented Fr. Melchior Poisson, L.C., the youngest chapter father at 36.
Credit: @VaticanMedia
A Meeting in the Context of Communion and Renewal
The audience granted by the Pope to the General Chapter is a moment of profound communion with the Church. It is a step forward on the path of deep renewal undertaken by the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi since 2009, guided by the Church. During this period, the Church, acting as Mother and Teacher, showed the Congregation the way forward, with the support of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.
You can learn more about the Congregation’s renewal process here.
With joy and profound love for God, the Chapter Fathers participated in the Audience with the Holy Father.
About the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a clerical religious institute of pontifical right, made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood. The Congregation’s aim is to give glory to God and seek Christ’s reign in the lives of its members, in the hearts of men, and in society. It is part of Regnum Christi, a spiritual family and apostolic body, with which it shares the same charism.
The Legion is made up of 1,327 members, of whom 1,049 are priests. It is present in 23 countries. Its apostolates include education, family, youth, and children’s ministry, the formation of Christian leaders and apostles in service to the Church, works of Christian charity and care for the most needy, media, catechesis, missions, and evangelization.
For more information about the Legion of Christ, click here.
Full text of the address:
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE
LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST
Consistory Hall
Thursday, February 19, 2026
_________________________________
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.
Your Eminence, Your Excellency, dear brothers,
I am pleased to receive you in the final phase of your General Chapter. As in the life of every religious institution, this is a time of grace, because it constitutes a privileged moment of community discernment and listening to the Holy Spirit, which continues to guide your history and to support the mission entrusted to your congregation, in fidelity to the charism received as a gift from God to the Church as a whole.
It is also an opportunity for you to recognize yourselves as heirs to a charism which, through different paths and historical expressions — sometimes painful and not without crises — gave rise to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, united by the same spiritual roots and a common apostolic passion. This shared memory does not look only to the past, but also urges us to constant renewal in the present, faithful to the Gospel.
The charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Every institute and each one of its members are called to embody it, personally and in the community, in a continual process of deepening their identity that situates and defines them within the Church and society. This journey, in turn, constitutes a valuable contribution to the Church as a whole and, in a special way, to the spiritual family of Regnum Christi.
The diversity of forms, styles and accents in living out the charism received does not weaken unity, but enriches it, like the “polyhedron, which reflects the convergence of all its parts, each of which preserves its distinctiveness” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, no. 236). For this reason, one must not fear plurality, but rather welcome it and discern it, and enable it to express itself so as to respond more transparently and faithfully to God’s call. Just as in a family every member has his or her own identity and mission, so too among you the plurality of gifts manifests the fruitfulness of the Spirit and strengthens the common mission.
As has been recalled, charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit; it is He who distributes his gifts (cf. 1 Cor 12:11), and he does so for the renewal and edification of the Church. As Saint Paul says, “To each is given a particular manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7). For this reason, charisms should be received with gratitude and consolation (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, no. 2). Remember, therefore, that you are not masters of charisms, but their custodians and servants. You are called to give your lives so that this gift may continue to be fruitful in the Church and in the world. Therefore, this Chapter invites you to continue to ask yourselves how to live today, with creative fidelity, the charismatic intuition that gave rise to your religious family.
A General Chapter is also a moment to evaluate the progress made and to discern, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the path to be travelled. For this reason, you have considered the exercise of governance and authority in the institute as one of the central themes. Authority, in religious life, is not understood as domination, but as spiritual and fraternal service to those who share the same vocation. Its exercise must be manifested in the “‘art of accompaniment” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5). The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, no. 169). Authority in religious life likewise serves to animate community life, focusing it on Christ and guiding it towards the fullness of life in Him, avoiding any form of control that does not respect the dignity and freedom of people.
In the same way, one of the fundamental tasks of religious governance is the promotion of fidelity to the charism. Therefore, it is necessary to reinforce a style of governance characterized by mutual listening, co-responsibility, transparency, fraternal closeness and community discernment. Good governance, instead of focusing everything on itself, promotes subsidiarity and the responsible participation of all the members of the community.
Consecrated life, called to be adept at communion, creates spaces where the Gospel is translated into tangible fraternity. In these days, without doubt, you have had a genuine experience of communion between brothers of diverse cultures and backgrounds, different generations, and between those who exercise responsibility for governing and those who serve daily in communities and missions.
Your mission consists of offering this visible witness of mutual listening and the common pursuit of God’s will, both for your communities and for those whom you meet on the way as you fulfil your mission.
“Missionary unity should not be understood as uniformity”.[1] It is not a matter of eliminating differences, but of having the capacity to harmonize diversity to the benefit of everyone, accepting divergences as wealth and discerning together the paths that the Lord proposes to us.
This process requires the humility to listen, the inner freedom to express oneself sincerely, and the openness to accept common discernment. It is an inherent requirement of every vocation lived in community.
The Church today is experiencing an intense call to synodality, that is, to walk, listen and discern together. The General Chapter is, by its very nature, a synodal exercise in which all are called to offer their experience and sensitivity in order to build the future of the institute together.
Dear brothers, I urge you to continue to live with an attitude of prayer, humility and inner freedom. Do not pursue particular or regional interests, nor seek mere organizational solutions, but above all the will of God for your religious family and for the mission that the Church has entrusted to you.
May this Chapter open you to a time of hope. The Lord continues to call and send, to heal and purify; therefore, your task is to discern how to respond faithfully to the present that God places in your hands.
Entrusting this new stage of your congregation to the maternal protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing. Thank you.
___________________________
[1] Message for the 100th World Mission Day, 8 January 2026.
