As announced on May 4th, in the final communique of the Regnum Christi General Convention, the 36 lay delegates at the General Convention elected the six lay members who will sit on the Regnum Christi General Plenary Council for the next six-year term. Those elected are: Cathie Zentner, Horacio Gómez, Cristina Regueira, Guillermo Narro, Maria Fioretta Bini Smaghi, and David Zárate.
The General Plenary Council assists the General Directive College, offering its consent or opinion when requested or when it is required according to the Statutes, thus supporting the College in the exercise of its authority. Their collaboration expresses the spirit of communion that characterizes Regnum Christi (SRCF 90 and 91). It is made up of all the General Councilors of the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi and the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, as well as six lay members who participate with a consultative vote (EFRC 89).
Here are the six lay delegates:
Horacio Gomez – North American Territory
Horacio Gomez was born and raised in Guadalajara Mexico, where he attended a RC School and joined ECYD. He incorporated into Regnum Christi in 1996 and gave one year of service as an RC Mission Corps missionary in Madrid, Spain. In 2003 he moved to San Diego, California, to study for a master’s degree, and in 2007 to Dallas, working professionally for Flextronics and Amazon. Due to work assignments, he lived for periods over six months in Hungary, China, Malaysia, and Brazil, experiencing the RC charism in different cultures. He is married to Luisa and is blessed with four young children, one of them already attending the Highlands School. As an RC member, he cofounded the first “ECYD Clubs” in Guadalajara, Mexico (Club Forja and Club Sherpa) and has been a team leader, section director, and RC director in Dallas, Texas. He is currently part of the Plenary Council of the North America Territory, supporting initiatives like the Leadership Evangelization Plan as well as some localities in the discernment of their plans. Over the last 10 years, he has been in charge of different apostolates (Marian Minute, Marian Steps) through the Marian Center of Dallas.
Cathie Zentner – North American Territory.
Cathie Zentner is from Canmore, Canada. She joined Regnum Christi in 1996, shortly after converting to the Catholic faith, and felt a strong calling to use her professional management consulting experience and administrative skills to serve the mission. Over the past 27 years, she held various roles, including serving as principal of Colegio Himalaya in Monterrey, Mexico. Within the RC Calgary locality, she has served on the locality committee and at Clear Water Academy. At the Territorial level, Cathie served for six years as a team member of RC Education (formerly known as National Consultants for Education), four years as the director of a Regnum Christi school in Monterrey, Mexico, and six years in territorial administration. For the last seven years, she has been supporting the territory’s governing body as Territorial Secretary, and was recently named Territorial Directive College Delegate until June 1st, 2024. In this capacity, she has worked with the Mission Support Team to serve members and localities across the territory. Cathie is married to Clark and the mother of two adult daughters.
Guillermo Narro – Territory of Mexico and Central America.
Guillermo lives in Mexico City, Mexico, and joined Regnum Christi in 2006. He has been a team leader since 2013 and was an RC Mission Corps missionary in Santiago de Chile in 2015, where he met his wife. He has served in the formation of young men and young professionals, as well as in business and family apostolates.
Cristina Regueira – Territory of Colombia-Venezuela.
Cristina is from Caracas, Venezuela. She was a member of ECYD, and served as a missionary both with ECYD Mission Corps and RC Mission Corps for two years. She joined Regnum Christi in 2006. Cristina has served as assistant for the locality, and in apostolates of the youth section in Caracas. She currently works in the Life and Mission area of the RC General Directorate, with the pastoral care of young people and international apostolates. At the territorial level, she provides support to the apostolates in the territory of Colombia-Venezuela, and in the formation of formators.
Maria Fioretta Bini Smaghi – Territory of Italy.
Maria Fioretta began her journey to Regnum Christi in 2008 in Milan, Italy, in one of the first ECYD groups to be formed there. She has seen Regnum Christi grow in her city, with more and more people willing to commit themselves to the service of the Church. In the same way, she has grown with Regnum Christi, participating in various apostolates and missions. Since 2016, he has been responsible for Angeli per un Giorno (Angel for a Day) in Milan, and for the last three years, she has been part of the Local Directive College.
David Zárate – Northern Territory of Mexico.
David is from Monterrey, Mexico. He joined ECYD in 1995, and joined Regnum Christi in 2001. He was a missionary with RC Mission Corps from 2005-2006 in southern Italy. He has had the opportunity to participate in the entire process of renewal of Regnum Christi since 2014, in the local, territorial and general phases. David is currently a group leader in the men’s section in Monterrey, and since September 2019 he has been a lay member of the General Plenary Council of Regnum Christi. He is married and runs a business.
Additionally, the final communiqué of the General Convention thanked the lay members who served on the General Plenary Council during the first years of the Regnum Christi Federation: Francisco Gámez-Arcaya, Álvaro Abellán-García, Carmen Fernández, Kerrie Rivard, José Antonio Lebrija and David Zárate. Their contribution helped to lay the foundations for the identity and participation of the lay members in the charism of Regnum Christi at the very beginning of the Federation.
