Considering the suggestions offered by the Apostolic Visit, on June 16, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI decided to continue accompanying the Legionaries of Christ. With the “desire to closely follow, support, and guide that path,” he appointed Mons. Velasio De Paolis as the Pontifical Delegate to govern the Congregation in his name for the necessary time and coordinate an Apostolic Visit to the lay movement Regnum Christi.

The ways of exercising this role, indicated by a decree from the Secretary of State in July 2010, provided that the superiors remain in office ad nutum Sanctae Sedis and must work in communion with the delegate, who, in turn, could count on the help of four counselors.

These counselors were: Mons. Brian Farrell, LC, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University; Mons. Mario Marchesi, vicar general of the Diocese of Cremona; and Fr. Agostino Montan, CSI, director of the office for consecrated life in the Diocese of Rome and vice-dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University. The Pontifical Delegate carried out the task entrusted by the pope for nearly three and a half years.

During this period – in which he was also appointed cardinal after the Consistory of November 20, 2010 – he sought to maintain regular contact with all Legionaries through letters, both informational and exhortatory. To address the most pressing issues, he created three commissions: the first for the revision of the Constitutions, the second for the study and review of the Congregation’s finances, and the third for addressing claims against the Legion related to Fr. Maciel’s behavior. At the beginning of his tenure, he made some reforms to the existing Constitutions due to concerns expressed by the Legionaries during the Apostolic Visit. Specifically, he abolished the role of the so-called “ordinary nuncios,” considering it unnecessary and a potential cause of confusion in the exercise of governance; issued new guidelines regarding the relationship between religious and their families, correspondence, email, and internet use; provided instructions on spiritual direction, the sacrament of penance, and the protection of conscience in dialogue with superiors, and on the distinction between internal and external forums.

In general, he adapted the functioning of the general council to the norms of common law and the specific law, guiding it toward the proper exercise of authority and participation. He also ensured greater representation of the entire Congregation within the general council and, together with the council members, carefully analyzed all matters related to religious life and administration and decided on a different practical organization for some houses of the Congregation.

In September 2011, he received from Mons. Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop of Valladolid, the report on the Apostolic Visit to the consecrated members of Regnum Christi, carried out in the first half of that year, and also initiated, as a result of the Visit, a process of renewal within the Movement.

On May 27, 2013, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis had a private audience with the newly elected Pope Francis, to whom he presented a report. The pope confirmed him in his work to continue with the task he had been carrying out until the extraordinary General Chapter of the Legion. The work of the Pontifical Delegate, desired by the Holy See to safeguard the spirit, discipline, and perseverance of the Congregation’s members, concluded with the General Chapter of 2014, which led to the approval of the new Constitutions, the appointment of a new leadership, and a general acceptance of the calls for renewal, with positive consequences for the Congregation.