This summer, 14 young men are participating in the Candidacy program, a “live-in” experience at the Legionaries of Christ novitiate in Cheshire, Connecticut, which provides the opportunity to get to know the Legionaries of Christ from the inside and see how a Legionary priest lives out religious life. This year’s candidates come from across the United States (including Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, California, New Jersey, Utah, and Minnesota), and the Philippines! The Candidacy began on June 23 and will run until August 28, with a break to visit home in mid-August.
The Candidacy is a summer program for young men who have finished high school and are discerning their vocation to the priesthood with the Legionaries of Christ. The Candidacy is meant to be a true encounter with Christ. Daily prayer, rosary, adoration, Mass, Scripture reading, and access to the sacrament of reconciliation are essential parts of the Candidacy experience. A candidate also experiences living community life within the Legionaries of Christ and receives daily explanations of its spirituality, community and mission.
The program begins with orientation week, a time for the candidates to get the feel for the formation and spiritual life that they will be experiencing throughout the summer, and to get to know each other better; most of the candidates have already been meeting virtually for months through the aspirancy program, an at-home pre-seminary introduction to Legionary life, charism and mission. This initial week also includes a camping trip in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire to foster teamwork and brotherhood.
In the weeks that follow, the candidates take various courses to guide them in their spiritual formation, on topics such as Theology of the Body, discernment, Regnum Christi, and apostolic life. These courses draw both on academic principles as well as on the testimonies of priests, consecrated, and the laity. There are regular times for sports, hikes, and the Encounter with Christ, as well as board games and a Saturday movie analysis. The summer includes retreats every few weeks, and periodic work days to complete household and garden chores.
For the candidates, a typical day starts at 6:00 a.m. with preparation for the day followed by the Morning Offering, meditation, and Mass. The rest of the morning consists of breakfast, housework, and classes (and, of course, a morning snack). Lunch is preceded by midday prayer and the rest of the afternoon is filled with sports, adoration, and spiritual reading. After dinner and on the weekends there is usually a formation period to learn about the Legionaries of Christ, Gregorian chant, the liturgy, and basic etiquette.
The Candidacy is just one of the first steps of discernment on the path to becoming a Legionary priest. After the Candidacy, a young man may enter the novitiate where he will spend two years at the Legionary seminary in Cheshire, ending with the first profession of temporal vows. This is followed by one to two years of classical humanities studies, and three years studying philosophy in Rome, during which time temporal vows are renewed. Two or three years of internship, which is a time of active apostolate, are followed by three years of theology, formal studies for the priesthood. This culminates in ordination to the transitional diaconate, and finally, to the priesthood as a Legionary of Christ. The entire journey to the priesthood takes approximately 12–15 years.
“There is a lot of work that goes into helping and accompanying the candidates, but I love seeing the teamwork, and I love seeing how the young men grow in their commitment to Christ and souls,” says Fr. Joseph Brickner, director of the Candidacy program and one of the vocation directors for the Legionaries of Christ southeast vocation team. Throughout this summer program, he works with a large team of priests and brothers, including Fr. Martin Connor, Fr. John VanDorpe, Fr. Markus Stehmer, Fr. Vinh Pham, Br. Daniel Krol, Br. Anthony Norton, and Br. Elijah McClellan.
For Fr. Joseph, the Candidacy program is the ideal way to learn about the Legionaries of Christ and to discern the call to the priesthood. “Quite simply, it is the way the Lord did things,” says Fr. Joseph. “When John’s disciples were curious and asked Christ about his mission, he replied ‘Come and see.’ The Candidacy is to come and see.”
A similar opportunity to experience the life of a Legionary priest is the LC Immersion Weekend, which was recently hosted at the end of May in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the third year that an immersion experience has been offered, which provides young men, particularly those who plan to enter the summer Candidacy program, the chance to see in-person the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi reality as it is lived out in schools, parishes, the Consecrated Women’s community, and apostolate. This year, there were 10 young man who participated in the immersion weekend.
Please keep this summer’s candidates in your prayers! One of Fr. Joseph’s favorite Scripture passages is Luke 10:2: “He said to them, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.’” “Christ asked us to pray to send more harvesters for the harvest. He needs us to pray for that intentionally, because he has work to be done, and, by design, he wants us to help him do it.”
To find out more about the Candidacy program, visit legionvocations.org, Legionaries of Christ Discernment, LC Cheshire Vocation, or follow Legionaries of Christ Vocations on Facebook.
Questions about the vocation to religious life and the priesthood? Email vocation@legionaries.org or check out Question & Answer with Fr. Anthony for FAQ.
