Wondering or Wandering
October 15, 2024
The 2023
Regnum Christi Territorial Convention
As a key element of the discernment process leading up to the General Convention to be held in May 2024 in Rome, Italy, each of the 9 Regnum Christi territories around the world are holding Territorial Conventions in which elected and ex-officio members attend and together discern what they believe God is calling Regnum Christi to live in terms of their evangelizing mission. At the end of the convention, their formal recommendations will go to Rome for consideration in the General Convention, and a number of delegates will also be elected to attend the General Convention on behalf of the territory.
The North American Territory’s convention takes place November 2-5, 2023, with 104 delegates of all four Regnum Christi vocations, from the United States, Canada, the Philippines, and South Korea. Check here for daily updates and snapshots of the work done each day.
Day 1 - Nov 2, 2023
The Convention Begins!
Delegates arrived from all over the world, representing 2 continents, 4 countries, and 14 time zones. The Convention began with an opening assembly which included presentations from the Regnum Christi Federation, The Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Legionaries of Christ. In the report she presented, Cathie Zentner, Territorial Directive College Delegate, thanked the delegates for being willing to serve in the upcoming days. She noted, “The rollout of the Federation over the last four years has implied some big changes. At the same time that we have been changing, the world has been changing. While this context has been changing, the mission has remained constant. We have not stopped evangelizing. We keep living the mission.” In upcoming days, the delegates will discern together what they believe that mission should continue to be for Regnum Christi in the North American Territory.
Kathleen Murphy, Territorial Director of the Consecrated Women shared that in the years since their institutional crisis and the renewal it provoked, she recognizes a gift. In in the over 80 Consecrated Women in this territory she sees “a renewed fire of love in their hearts, strengthened friendships, a new dynamism in the mission, joy, co-responsibility, women who are deeply in love with Jesus Christ, anchored and rooted in prayer, and dedicated to bringing his love to others.”
In his address, Fr. Shawn Aaron, LC, shared that the Legionaries of Christ in the territory are looking forward to the future and the mission of the Legion and Regnum Christi, initiating a process of optimizing the order in this territory for mission, sustained impact, and growth.
Day 2 - Nov 3, 2023
The Work Begins!
Day 2 of the Convention started with a vote on what topics the delegates would address in the next three days. They chose to focus on
• Growing Regnum Christi
• Evangelizing People and Culture Through the Lens of our Charism
• Building Relationships between Regnum Christi and Institutions
• Understanding and Assimilating our RC Identity
Through discussion and discernment in small groups and plenary sessions the delegates will draft propositions to send as input to the General Convention to be held in Rome next year. Today the 14 small groups, made up of mixed vocations and locations, discussed the themes of growth in vocations and evangelization. After meeting as small groups, the delegates came back together to share ideas and vote for the propositions that will go forward.
Day 3 - Nov 4, 2023
Dialogue, Discernment, and Fun!
Today the delegates finished their discussion on evangelizing through the lens of the charism and addressed the theme of building relationships between Regnum Christi and institutions. The assembly affirmed the need for evangelization strategies to be developed at the local level according to the reality of that area, and encouraged networking and sharing of apostolic ideas across different localities.
A highlight mentioned by many delegates is the opportunity to explore the experiences of other vocations and locations, listening to each other and discerning together the common threads in the ways God is impacting people and culture across the territory.
In the discussion about building relationships with institutions, the group acknowledged how schools and universities – both RC and non-RC – and parishes run by Legionaries of Christ have been impactful places for evangelization in the RC charism both historically and today.
As RC members of different vocations and locations continued to get to know each other and build relationships, they enjoyed the RC Photo Booth, taking fun photos, and spent the evening at a social where they could relax and continue to make the most of the strong sense of family and communion present at the convention.
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