The first Regnum Christi Marriage and Family Symposium brought together some 70 members from across the United States and Canada for four days of prayer, study, and apostolic discernment.
At the end of May, Regnum Christi members from across the United States and Canada gathered at the University of St. Mary on the Lake in the Chicago area for the first Regnum Christi Marriage and Family Symposium. Over three days, approximately 70 participants, including lay members, Legionaries of Christ, and Consecrated Women, came together to take stock of what Regnum Christi is already doing to serve marriages and families, and to discern what it could do together as a unified apostolic body.
Fr. John Bartunek opened the symposium by framing the two questions that had given rise to the gathering, speaking on behalf of the Territorial Directive College (TDC) of Regnum Christi.
"When we received the communique from the 2024 Regnum Christi General Convention, the members of the TDC asked ourselves two questions: First, what does our current effort to form and project true apostles of marriage and family look like in our territory right now? And second, what could it look like in six years if we were to embrace this invitation from the Lord not just individually, not just locally, but together as a whole territory, as the spiritual family and apostolic body that Regnum Christi is?"
Those questions had moved the TDC to establish a Marriage and Family Commission the previous year. Led by BJ and Jeannine Agugliaro, the commission includes Patrick and Christina Jacobeen, Dr. Kathleen Musslewhite, Fr. Peter Hopkins, LC, Fr. Juan Sabadell, LC, and Monica Treviño. The commission has spent the past year studying the full landscape of marriage apostolates currently offered across North America, assessing how well existing initiatives work together, and developing recommendations to strengthen alignment and territorial support. The symposium was a key next step in that work.
Understanding the State of Marriage in North America as a Call to Mission
Fr. Aaron Smith, LC, territorial delegate for Regnum Christi, set the apostolic goals for the gathering with a detailed overview of marriage and family trends across the continent. His presentation showed that only 37 percent of adults between the ages of 25 and 49 in the United States are married with children today, down from 67 percent in 1970. Divorce rates have declined from 26.5 percent in 1990 to 19.6 percent in 2023, though divorce among older adults has increased. Same-sex marriages rose from 0.5 percent in 2015 to 4 percent in 2019. In Canada, the marriage rate stands at 2.6 per 1,000 people, with 44.3 percent of households married. Taken together, the trends point to a North American culture in which marriage is under significant and sustained pressure.
Rather than leaving participants discouraged, Fr. Aaron framed the data as a call to apostolic action, rooted in the particular identity and gift of Regnum Christi.
"The Lord has granted us an incredible gift: we are a spiritual family and an apostolic body," he said.
"We are not simply individuals in silos, each doing the best we can to confront these difficulties alone, striving to advance our apostolate in isolation. No, we are an apostolic body called to dream together, to work together, to row together, and to complement each other in bringing about the true transformation of making Christ present in all hearts and in society."
Voices from the Mission Field
Over the course of four days, more than 20 Regnum Christi members who are actively engaged in marriage ministry across the territory shared their perspectives, including lay members, Legionaries, and Consecrated Women.Â
Several married couples attended the event, including three who celebrated their wedding anniversaries over the course of the symposium and received a special blessing during one of the Masses.
Four guest speakers brought additional perspectives to the conversation. Fr. Adolfo Guemez, LC, and Diana Villareal represented the General Directorate’s Area of Life and Mission, offering the perspective of Regnum Christi’s international leadership. Julia Dezelski, who serves as associate director for Marriage and Family Life at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, brought the viewpoint and initiatives of the broader Catholic landscape in the United States. Paul McCusker, a writer and dramatist best known for his long-running work on Adventures in Odyssey and award-winning Radio Theatre productions for the Augustine Institute and Focus on the Family, spoke to the cultural dimensions of the challenge and the power of story in reaching families.
Listening Through Guiding Questions
Participants were asked to listen throughout the symposium through the lens of five guiding questions, each oriented toward both honest assessment and apostolic imagination. They discussed these questions in breakout small groups. At the close of the event, each participant answered them in a written survey, providing the commission with a rich body of reflective input from the field.
Guiding Questions for Participants
- How has my understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to marriage apostolates changed or grown over the years of my involvement?
- What do I currently see as the top challenges and opportunities for the renewal of marriage in North America?
- What is, or could be, Regnum Christi's unique contribution to marriage ministry and the renewal of marriage in North America?
- How has God been working most powerfully through the apostolates I have been involved in, and what does that tell me about what Regnum Christi's apostolic focus on marriage and family life should look like?
- How do I understand what is meant by Regnum Christi being an apostolic body, and not only a spiritual family? How could that affect what Regnum Christi's apostolic focus on marriage and family should look like?
The Road Ahead
The Marriage and Family Commission also presented its findings and recommendations at the symposium, drawing on its comprehensive study of Regnum Christi’s marriage and family ministry across the territory. The commission will continue its work through August 2026, presenting preliminary findings to the Territorial Directive College in November 2026 and delivering a final report at the close of its term.
That final report, together with the survey responses and discussions gathered at the symposium, will guide the TDC in shaping Regnum Christi’s strategy for supporting marriages and families across North America in the years ahead.
In the words of Fr. Aaron Smith, speaking to the apostles gathered in Chicago: “Let us unite our hearts to the Lord’s, because in His providence, each of you in this room today plays an essential role. Just imagine: what if each of us were authentically and vibrantly living our Regnum Christi vocation — not just as individuals, but as an apostolic body? Working together on our marriage apostolate teams, attentive to opportunities, creating synergies, and making a positive impact on the reality of marriages in the United States and Canada. What if each of the marriage apostolates represented here today were growing and thriving, making an ever-greater impact in hearts and in society? It would be amazing. History will prove it. I am convinced of that.”
