What is the Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi?
The Territorial Directive College (TDC) is a collaborative governing body responsible for guiding the mission, identity, and apostolic direction of Regnum Christi across the North American Territory, which includes the United States, Canada, and the Philippines. Composed of Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and lay Regnum Christi members, the TDC provides unified leadership for the territory, ensuring that Regnum Christi’s charism is lived cohesively and fruitfully in its institutions, apostolic initiatives, and localities.
In August, after a summer during which the Legionary and Consecrated Women’s territorial governments received new leadership, the North American Regnum Christi Territorial Directive College gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, for the first meetings of its upcoming term, including three new members.
The Territorial Directive College is now made up of:
- Fr. John Bartunek, LC, territorial director of the Legionaries, and president of the Territorial Directive College (RRCF 26).
- Katie Tuttle, territorial director of the Consecrated Women, and new vice-president of the Territorial Directive College (RRCF 28).
- Fr. Timothy Walsh, territorial vicar of the Legionaries of Christ, and new member of the Territorial Directive College.
- Helen Yalbir, first councilor of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and a member of the Territorial Directive College.
- Maria Gaviria, lay Regnum Christi member who has been renewed for a second term.
- Andrew Rawicki, lay Regnum Christi member and new member of the Territorial Directive College
Together, these six members bring a wealth of experience, vocational perspectives, and apostolic commitment that will shape the life of Regnum Christi in the North American Territory over the next three years. As they begin this new term, the College looks ahead with confidence and hope, united in guiding Regnum Christi’s evangelizing work in making present the Kingdom of Christ throughout the territory.
As this newly constituted directive body began its collaborative governance, it laid the foundation for the discernment, planning, and territorial leadership that will guide Regnum Christi’s mission across the United States, Canada, and the Philippines for the next three years.
On September 1st, 2026 the TDC sent a letter to all Regnum Christi members of all vocations in the territory, thanking Fr. Shawn Aaron, LC, Kathleen Murphy, and Charlie Bradley for their service on the previous TDC, and sharing about their first meeting and its fruits:
A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed being together in person for our first offsite to experience the power of the Spirit that continues to call us forward to extend his Kingdom by making Christ present in all hearts and in society. It is impressive to see the wonders the Lord is already doing through Regnum Christi… What is the Lord telling us with all he has been doing in and through all of us as Regnum Christi? As he did with the apostles, he encourages us who have experienced him to launch out in mission, sharing him and the power of his love throughout the world.
During these days we also had the opportunity to review the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and have reaffirmed this as the direction we want to take. This plan is a strong witness to the quality of the discernment many of you participated in during the preparation for the 2024 General Convention. May the takeaways expressed in the General Convention Communique continue to enlighten our path forward, trusting in the Lord who guides us each step of the way.
Meet your new Territorial Directive College!
Fr. John Bartunek, LC
Fr. John Bartunek, LCTerritorial Director of the Legionaries of Christ
Atlanta, Georgia
“I can think of nothing more exciting than providing the Church with mature, mission-ready Regnum Christi apostles, and I am eager to do my part as a Territorial Directive College member to help provide more and more of them.”
Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and joined the Catholic Church in 1991.
After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He has taught moral theology at various ecclesiastical institutions at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
He has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. He is an accomplished author with many books. His most widely known books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple.
He has also written three Regnum Christi Essays: Sharpening Your Tongue: An RC Essay on Charity in Our Words, What Is Regnum Christi? An RC Essay on the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation and the Rule of Life for Lay Members, and Our Formation Pathway: An RC Essay on Integral Formation and the Journey to Christian Maturity. His series of Do-It-Yourself online Catholic Retreat Guides is available in multiple formats at RC Spirituality.
Fr. John currently resides in Atlanta, where he is serving as territorial director for the Legionaries of Christ.
Looking forward, Fr. John sees Regnum Christi poised to enter into a new phase of growth and apostolic creativity in the coming years, and he welcomes the opportunity to be part of that growth.
“We are just starting to discover what it means to live our shared charism as a true spiritual family and apostolic body. I can’t wait to see how the Lord will lead us forward in that ongoing discovery, and all the fruits our journey will bear for our own members and for the entire Church throughout the various countries included in our territory. I can think of nothing more exciting than providing the Church with mature, mission-ready Regnum Christi apostles, and I am eager to do my part as a Territorial Directive College member to help provide more and more of them.”
Fr. Timothy Walsh, LC
Territorial Vicar of the Legionaries of Christ
Atlanta, Georgia
“I thank Our Lord for inviting me to participate in his ongoing plan for Regnum Christi in such a special way.”
Fr. Timothy Walsh was born and raised in Cornwall, Canada. After studying physics at Laval University in Quebec, he entered the Legionaries of Christ Canadian novitiate. He did his philosophy and theology studies at the Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum in Rome and was ordained to the priesthood on December 23, 2006. Fr. Timothy served in the Legionaries of Christ high school seminaries in Indiana and New Hampshire for eleven years and has also worked with Regnum Christi in Cincinnati and Houston. From July 2020 to 2026, he worked at the Legionaries of Christ Novitiate and College of Humanities in Cheshire, Connecticut. He is currently serving as territorial vicar for North America and is based in Atlanta.
In the introduction and onboarding meetings for the new TDC held recently in Atlanta, Fr. Timothy was deeply impressed with all of the members, as well as those supporting them on the Mission Support Team.
“I thank Our Lord for inviting me to participate in his ongoing plan for Regnum Christi in such a special way, and I ask Our Blessed Mother to help us and keep us close to her Son’s heart.”
Andrew Rawicki
Andrew RawickiLay Member of Regnum Christi
Dallas, Texas
“I pray that the Lord works through me and each member of the College to bring about the fruits that he wishes for our members, the Church, and society.”
Andrew Rawicki and his wife, JoAnna, live close to ten of their thirteen grandchildren in Dallas, Texas. A convert from Judaism, Andrew entered the Church in 1991. He and his wife were introduced to Regnum Christi in 2000 through the Conquest and Challenge camps that most of their six children attended at Camp Bocamb in Louisiana, and Andrew associated to Regnum Christi in 2001. He has served as the men’s section director and the renewal coordinator in the Houston locality, as well as the men’s section assistant and Hub City director for Holy Week Missions while his family resided in San Jose, California.
Andrew served as the local director for Regnum Christi Dallas from July 2020 to June 2026. Over the past two years, he has served on the board of trustees for The Highlands School and completed the spiritual direction certificate course through Divine Mercy University.
Andrew is honored and humbled to be serving as one of the two non-consecrated members of the TDC, and is looking forward to beginning this new chapter.
“I pray that the Lord works through me and each member of the College to bring about the fruits that he wishes for our members, the Church, and society. Lord, let me serve my brothers and sisters in Christ with fortitude and humility, helping to build the Kingdom more fully in my heart, in the College, and in everyone impacted by us.”
Maria Gaviria
Lay Member of Regnum Christi
Sarasota, Florida
“I am excited for all that Christ has in store for the North American Territory and for the ways he will continue to enkindle his mission through us.”
Maria associated to Regnum Christi in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2007. Over the years, Regnum Christi has been a spiritual family for Maria and her family, helping them grow in friendship with Christ, deepen their Catholic faith and discover the joy of living as apostles together.
After moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, Maria and her family quickly found a familiar Regnum Christi community through Challenge, Conquest, weekly Encounters with Christ, spiritual retreats and the shared experiences of journeying in faith together. Maria experienced that same sense of communion during her visits to Colombia, where she was born, and often connects with the local Regnum Christi community when she is there.
Her mission in the Movement has included leading three international World Youth Day missions, helping establish Holy Week Mercy Missions in Cincinnati, serving as a guest lecturer at Anáhuac University Puebla in Mexico, accompanying young adults, and serving in local and territorial leadership. She is also a parishioner at Our Lady of Angels and enjoys serving in parish life.
Maria spent her professional career in leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, where one of the accomplishments closest to her heart was establishing the company’s first Catholic employee network, now present in more than 20 countries. Today, she provides people and organizational development consulting and mentors young professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology, which she pursued from a desire to deepen her Catholic faith and relationship with Christ and to grow in service and apostolic leadership.
Maria is co-founder of Catholic Caregiver with her daughter Natasha Goodwin, a mission born from their family’s experience caring for Maria’s mother. Catholic Caregiver cares for the caregiver, helping daughters and sons care for their aging parents with dignity while navigating this season with greater clarity, strength, and peace.
Among Maria’s greatest joys is her vocation as a mother to Natasha and Philip, and she is joyfully entering a new chapter as an abuela. She loves cooking and gathering family and friends around the table, morning gratitude walks by the lake, and participating in works of mercy and missions, locally and internationally. Maria currently lives in Sarasota, Florida and is serving her second term as a lay member of the North American Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi.
“Our first meeting of this new term began with an hour of adoration that set the tone beautifully for what lies ahead—my hope is that we continue to keep Christ at the center, remaining attentive to where he is leading us and ready to respond with boldness. I am excited for all that he has in store for the North American Territory and for the ways he will continue to enkindle his mission through us.”
Katie Tuttle
Territorial Director of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi
Chicago, Illinois
“I am eager to get to know the different localities, to witness and celebrate the wonderful work being done throughout the territory, and to see how the Holy Spirit is inviting and sending forth Regnum Christi members in this time.”
Katie Tuttle was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She met the Consecrated Women on a Regnum Christi mission trip to Mexico during Holy Week during her senior year of high school, and interrupted her undergraduate studies at the University of Dayton to discern her vocation. Katie was consecrated in 2003 and finished her formation in Greenville, Rhode Island, completing her bachelor’s degree in education and development, and obtaining a master’s in religious sciences.
Katie worked as an assistant secretary in the office of the territorial director. She served as a mentor and formator for the young women in the Immaculate Conception Program in Michigan, then moved to Houston in 2016 to work in young adult ministry. From 2020 to 2026, she lived in Houston and served as the community director of the Consecrated Women and as a territorial council member.
Katie currently lives in Chicago and serves as the territorial director of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christ in North America.
Grateful for the leadership and service of the previous TDC, Katie looks forward to collaborating with the other current members of the TDC and the Mission Support Team in service of the mission.
“I am eager to get to know the different localities, to witness and celebrate the wonderful work being done throughout the territory, and to see how the Holy Spirit is inviting and sending forth Regnum Christi members in this time.”
Helen Yalbir
Territorial Vicar of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi
Dallas, Texas
“I am confident that the Lord will continue to work through each TDC member and the gifts, skills, and experience they bring.”
Helen Yalbir is originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She completed her BA in English literature at the University of Saskatchewan and served as a Regnum Christi missionary in Calgary, Alberta, before consecrating her life to Jesus in Regnum Christi in 2006. Helen later obtained a BA in religious and pastoral studies, magna cum laude, from Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island, and pursued additional formation through certifications in Catholic youth ministry at Franciscan University of Steubenville and spiritual direction at Divine Mercy University.
Driven by a passion for evangelization, accompaniment, and forming apostles for the Church, Helen has dedicated her life to helping others encounter the love of Christ in a personal and transformative way. From 2013 to 2021, Helen served in Washington, DC, accompanying and forming youth and young women in their growth as disciples and apostles of Christ, with a particular emphasis on personal accompaniment, evangelization, and leadership development.
Helen currently lives in Dallas, Texas, serving as community director of the Consecrated community there while accompanying and forming young adults in the Dallas area. In addition to her local apostolic mission, she has also served the North American Territory in governance and advisory roles, including as councilor to former territorial director Kathleen Murphy and now as territorial vicar of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi and a member of the Territorial Directive College.
Reflecting on this newest role, Helen says,
“I am confident that the Lord will continue to work through each TDC member and the gifts, skills, and experience they bring so as to take a new step forward together in our mission of evangelization as a spiritual family and apostolic body.”
