The 2024 REGNUM CHRISTI
GENERAL Convention
Rome, Italy | April 29 - May 4, 2024
Discerning & Living the Mission Together
As the Father has sent me, so I send you. (John 20:21)
DAILY UPDATES
Click for a summary and photos from each day of the convention.
The General Convention brought together 120 members of Regnum Christi – Lay Members, Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women, and Lay Consecrated Men, from all around the world, from April 29 to May 4 in Rome, Italy. Here’s what they wanted to share about their experience.
Day 5 of the General Convention - "The challenge to listen to each other in discernment"
The Convention delegates spent Friday in plenary meetings to share and vote on suggested actions. In these meetings, syntheses of each group’s proposals were presented, allowing time for reflection and dialogue among the delegates.
After the presentation of the proposed actions, the participants had a time of prayer to ask for light and discernment:
- What is God saying to us at this moment?
- What does the Lord want from Regnum Christi regarding these considerations?
Faced with the challenges of putting all the reflections into action, some delegates commented:
The work we are doing “is a challenge because it involves listening to each other, discerning, perhaps not saying some things that could provoke positive or not so positive reactions. It implies going back and listening to discern what comes from God and what does not come from God” (Elena Olazábal, Consecrated Woman, Territory of Chile).
“It has been enriching to listen and have discussions together, and then to choose what we will and will not propose. This is quite a challenge. Where we have found points of consensus that have emerged in the teams, we need to translate them into actions, and discern them among the whole group” (Fernando Rincón, Lay Consecrated Man).
At noon, Fr. Pablo Solís, LC, presided at the Eucharistic celebration, and the homily was preached by Fr. Juan Pablo Durán, LC, who reflected on the Sacred Heart of Jesus on this first Friday of the month.
“What is the foundation of our hope? It is before our eyes: it is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What is the Heart of Jesus? It is a human heart like all of ours but overflowing with the love of God. It is the love that created the universe and that melts with love for each one of us; the central focus of all our formation is to become like Him, even if just a little bit more. The Heart of Jesus wants to share His love with us like a flame that reaches our hearts. Holiness means to be consumed with the fire of love of the Heart of Jesus.”
On Saturday, May 4, the last day of the General Convention, the conclusions will be discussed in plenary meetings, the lay delegates will elect six lay members from among themselves to sit on the General Plenary Council for the next six years. Two of these six General Plenary Council members will be selected to assist the General Directive College. The end of the afternoon, the closing mass will be held at the International College of the Legionaries of Christ.
Day 4 of the General Convention- "Dialogue and discernment for a Church that goes out on mission"
The work of the General Convention is to look at Regnum Christi and the world we live in through Christ’s eyes, analyze it according to Gospel criteria and the Regnum Christi charism, and define actions to take for the next six years. Today the delegates began the stage of “defining actions” concerning the ten themes they are reflecting on.
The actions defined in the teams seek to answer the following questions:
- How do we want to respond to the needs of the world and the Church as Regnum Christi?
- What do we envision as possible general apostolic priorities for Regnum Christi from 2024-2030?
- Are there recommendations and guidelines we would like to give to the government of the Regnum Christi Federation and, if applicable, to the Federated Institutes?
After the teams define these actions for each of their themes, they bring them to the larger group where the actions are further defined, validated, and the group works towards a consensus on a proposal containing:
- A consolidated version of the evaluations and recommendations for Regnum Christi as a whole.
- Proposals of possible general apostolic priorities.
- Possible recommendations and guidelines for the governing bodies.
In his homily at today’s Mass, Fr. Riccardo Garzari, LC, reflected on the need to remain united to Christ in love. Recalling the first reading of the day’s mass, he delved into the way the apostles discussed certain topics such as the salvation reserved for the people of Israel.
“At that time Peter had a special call from God because there was a change of horizons: he had to open up the Church to the nations and not only to the people of Israel. Paul and Barnabas also spoke of their experience. James takes up what Peter said and reflects it also in the Scriptures and actions arise. How did they come to this? They reflected that God, and not one person, was the protagonist” (Fr. Riccardo Garzari, LC).
After Mass, Sister Simona Brambilla, MC, former Superior General of the Consolata Missionary Sisters (Italy), who currently serves as secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, joined the General Convention delegates for lunch.
Nancy Nohrden, General Director of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, addressed a word of thanks to Sister Simona: “We spoke here at the table about charisms; we feel that we are called to make present the mystery of Christ and this requires a certain dynamic. One of these dynamics is that Christ first gathers his disciples and reveals to them the love of his heart. Throughout these years we have felt Christ’s love in the presence of the representatives of the Church among us, who have accompanied, guided, and sometimes corrected us.”
For her part, Sister Simona reflected on synodality in the Church, which implies dialogue and living outwardly:
“Thank you for this occasion of spiritual sharing among brothers and sisters. From what I have heard here at the table, I would like to underline something that has touched my heart: a journey together in synodality. In synodality there are two fundamental aspects that go hand in hand: communion, and a communion that reaches out in mission. They are two mutually validating realities. True communion leads to reaching out in mission, which then leads to broadening and deepening communion. This is my wish for the whole Convention, that it be a synodal Convention, that is to say, one of communion and of reaching out in mission.”
At the end of the afternoon, a Eucharistic hour was held in the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Philip the Martyr, which was also attended by Regnum Christi members from Rome, as well as the communities of the Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women and Lay Consecrated Men from Rome.
Day 3 of the General Convention- "To Be Deeply United with Christ."
On the third day of the General Convention of Regnum Christi, delegates began with round table discussions to review the contributions on the various themes that were chosen on the first day.
This was followed by a session to review the Rules of Procedure for the next General Convention to be held in 2030.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, presided over the celebration of the Eucharist. The Cardinal had accompanied Regnum Christi for almost a decade on the path of renewal towards the pontifical approval of the constitutions of the Legionaries of Christ, the Society of Apostolic Life of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Society of Apostolic Life of the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, as well as the approval of the new statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation.
During the homily, he stated: “I am very happy to preside over this Eucharist with you, because we are at a moment of action on a long road that we have travelled together for years.” He offered reflections aimed at discernment: “Faced with the concrete problems of life, you place yourselves before Christ to dialogue together; to discern, to be docile to the Spirit in order to discover the will of God. This is what Pope Francis wants for the whole Church; to live this synodal dimension in which each one, with his own responsibility, participates in a discernment and in the construction of a decision, which implies docility to the Spirit.”
He then spoke about the fatigue and difficulties that can arise along the way: “Often the journey can be tiring, it can be difficult, but a shared deliberation guarantees a correspondence with what the Spirit wants. And therefore, it can be better received as well as observed and put into practice. But all this is possible, as the Gospel suggests, only if each of us is deeply united to Christ. For only if we are united to Christ will our action bear fruit. This is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel we have read. Only if we are united to Christ, as the branches are to the vine, can we bear fruit. Separated from Christ, we bear no fruit and are useless.”
He concluded by inviting the delegates to be docile to the Holy Spirit, “And so, if you effectively preserve this docility to the Spirit, in this way you will give glory to God, because you will advance the work you have to do in order to fulfil the mission God has given to Regnum Christi.”
At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Ghirlanda shared a meal with the 120 delegates. Félix Gómez Rueda, General Director of the Lay Consecrated Men and member of the General Directive College, thanked the Cardinal for his closeness during these years. He also asked him to continue to accompany Regnum Christi on the path it is gradually travelling.
In the afternoon, two plenary sessions were held where the teams presented the group work completed yesterday.
Also, the delegates received the news that during the morning, Pope Francis, in his general audience, sent greetings to Regnum Christi and to the 20 new priests of the Legionaries of Christ who were ordained on Saturday, April 27:
“I greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, in particular the Regnum Christi Federation, the Legionaries of Christ who received priestly ordination in recent days and their families, as well as the formators and students of the various educational centers. May the Lord, through the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker, Father in obedience, increase our gift of faith and allow us to open our minds to his divine mystery. May Jesus bless us and the Blessed Virgin watch over you.”
Testimonies of the day:
Paloma Domínguez
Spain
“We can’t be afraid to launch ourselves into the world because Christ is with us and he really needs us. We have to respond to this unique call, the beautiful vocation of being a lay person, hand in hand with our companions on the way, the other vocations of Regnum Christi.”
Álvaro Carranque
Colombia – Venezuela
“It is a gift to share as a family, it is a very rich space to be able to sit at the same table to talk about our apostolate and what is coming in the next several years with priests, Lay Consecrated Men, Consecrated Women and lay members from all over the world. It is very nice to see that although we come from very different cultures, the charism remains the same.
Day 2 of the General Convention- "Making Christ's Kingdom present today"
The participants of the General Convention dedicated Tuesday, April 30th to working in groups and teams, where they deepened in the following themes, which were validated by the delegates:
The horizon – our overarching theme: The evangelizing mission of Regnum Christi in today’s world: the world from which we are called, and to which we are also sent.
We recognize that we are living in a change of era which has very particular characteristics that need to be seen in the light of the Gospel. The world from which we are called, and to which we are also sent, is the concrete place in which we must make the Kingdom present, and for this it is necessary to know how to live within it, to observe and listen to it, to look at it and to enter into dialogue with it. It is in the here and now that Christ invites us to proclaim the Good News that brings life; it is in this time and in this society that Christ wants to reign.
1. The mission of Regnum Christi in different areas of evangelization:
- The mission with adolescents and young people in and by Regnum Christi.
- The promotion of marriage and the family and the formation of married couples.
- The evangelization of culture, professional environments, and people with responsibility and leadership in different social spheres.
2. Vocational Fulfillment:
- Lay Members’ identity, mission, and way of belonging in Regnum Christi.
- Formation in the life of the lay member.
- The knowledge, interiorization, and living of our charism.
- Vocational culture and promotion.
3. Communities of apostles:
- An integrated pastoral ministry in the locality.
- Formation of formators and Christ-like leadership.
- Structure at the service of communion and mission.
To address the general and specific themes, the delegates are following a process involving work in teams, groups, and plenary meetings. Each team addresses a specific theme. Each group is made up of several teams. During the group meetings, the general issues are addressed, and the teams’ perspectives and results on the specific themes are exchanged to identify common elements (to see and to judge- in the style of the Encounter with Christ). In team meetings, specific issues are discussed in depth and proposals are generated based on what has been previously analyzed (to act- as outlined in the Encounter with Christ). The aim of the plenary meetings is to provide a global vision and to create spaces to discuss the main issues.
During the homily of today’s Mass, Fr. Adolfo Güémez, LC, reflected on the call to make Christ’s Kingdom present in this society, not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. “Regnum Christi is not a disembodied institution, it is alive not only in an assembly, in a General Convention, but it is alive in each one of us”, said Fr. Adolfo.
“Working in groups has given me a lot of hope for the future. It provides a general enrichment for Regnum Christi of what is experienced in different countries and in different localities”. (Ana Paula O’Neil, territory of Mexico and Central America).
“I am in the group that is dealing with the topic: “Formation of formators and Christ-like leadership”. It is a very important topic for Regnum Christi and for society in general. We have to move towards a community of apostles who walk together and who seek to transmit the same leadership as Jesus, which is based on service, on love of neighbor, on placing the person at the center, and on the truth of the Gospel. A style which we are reflecting on a lot during these days, and we hope to have a good result at the end” (Fr. Cleomar Ferronato, LC, territory of Brazil).
On Wednesday, May 1, the groups will continue with the analysis of the themes and Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, will preside over the celebration of the Eucharist in the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Philip the Martyr.
Day 1
The 2024 Regnum Christi General Convention begins:
- 120 delegates from the four different vocations in Regnum Christi are participating.
- Pope Francis sent a letter on the occasion of the ordinary General Convention.
- In his introductory homily, Fr. John Connor, LC, invited the delegates to be “meek and humble of heart” so as to listen to the Holy Spirit.
On the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, patron of Europe, the first ordinary General Convention of Regnum Christi opened in Rome, with 120 delegates and invited guests from the four vocations that make up the Federation: Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and Lay Members.
In a letter on the occasion of the Convention, Pope Francis expressed his closeness and the hope that the participants be guided by the light of the Holy Spirit as they discern their role in the Church and how they can incarnate the mystery of Christ in today’s world.
Pope Francis emphasized the importance of fidelity to the Gospel and the Magisterium of the Church in this discernment process. Each member of Regnum Christi has a specific vocation, and the Pope encouraged each one to prepare for the Convention through prayer and Eucharistic adoration.
In addition, the Holy Father expressed his hope that the outcome of the work of these days will further the aspiration of Regnum Christi members to be true apostles. He recalled the importance of “constantly renewing ourselves according to the image of the Creator” (Col
3:10). In a world facing contemporary challenges, the Pope urged Regnum Christi to be able to give a reason for its hope and to live its vocation with authenticity and courage.
The Convention began with the celebration of the Eucharist in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Philip the Martyr, presided over by Fr. John Connor, LC, president of the General Directive College of Regnum Christi. In his homily, Fr. John invited everyone present to live these six days of discernment united to Jesus Christ. Referring to the readings of the day’s liturgy, he reflected on the importance of “walking in the light”: If we walk in the light then we are in communion with God and with others. “Christ calls us to live his light among one another.” He also alluded to the Gospel message, “Be meek and humble of heart” as the delegates listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit throughout the week.
The mass was offered for Mr. Roberto Boesch Garza who passed away recently. He is the father of Daniela Boesch, a delegate from the territory of the North of Mexico.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the delegates moved to the Chapter Hall of the General Directorate, where the General Convention is being held. The meetings began with an explanation of practical aspects and then reports presented by the general directors of each of the consecrated vocations, followed by the report of the General Directive College of Regnum Christi.
Maria Fioretta
Italy
“I came to this General Convention with the desire to live and share a moment with the Regnum Christi family, seeing the world through the light of the Holy Spirit and discovering it with new eyes and a renewed heart, sharing life and our charism among all the branches of RC, and seeing what the world needs and what we can do to respond”.
Daniel Bizzo
Mexico and Central America
“I am originally from Brazil and currently live in Mexico, I work in the central office of the Regnum Christi network of schools, Semper Altius, and the Anahuac High School in the area of projects. I also work in youth ministry in the Territory of Mexico and Central America. I come to this convention with great excitement to learn, to share experiences, to deepen our charism and to discover where God is calling us in the coming years and what he wants us to contribute to the world.”
To know more about the ordinary General Convention of Regnum Christi, please click the button below.
What is the General Convention?
This is the first meeting of its kind to be convoked after an extensive process of renewal, which, with the help of the Holy See, clarified Regnum Christi’s identity and mission and gave the organization the canonical form of a Federation comprised of four vocations: the Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and lay members.
The General Convention is a collegial body and the highest authority of the Regnum Christi Federation. It is responsible for “overseeing the purposes, progress and future development of the Regnum Christi Federation” and establishing mission priorities for a six-year period, among other functions established in the Statutes approved by the Holy See in 2019 (SRCF 64-75).
A path of apostolic discernment regarding our world today and the election of delegates
In 2022, a global synodal process began in preparation for the General Convention. 2,914 meetings were held in different locations across 26 countries. The contributions of thousands of members of all the vocations of Regnum Christi were collected to facilitate discernment of how Regnum Christi is called to respond to the current needs of the world, the Church, and society through its mission. The themes of support for marriage and family and evangelization in today’s world resonated deeply with members globally during the process.
The elected delegates who will participate in the General Convention were selected by their fellow members in each of the nine territories of Regnum Christi. As laid out by the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation, 120 delegates from the four vocations will be present, of which 33 participate ex-officio with voice and vote, 72 are elected delegates with voice and vote, ten participate ex-officio with voice but without vote, and five guests are invited to attend with voice but without vote. Forty-five delegates are Legionaries of Christ, 29 are Consecrated Women, eight are Lay Consecrated Men, and 38 are lay members.
Three major themes for deliberation
The results of the global preparation process showed great convergence in the themes members chose to reflect on. These are collected in a working document that articulates all of the contributions received on the three major themes discerned as most globally relevant for the Convention to deliberate on: vocational fulfillment, communities of apostles, and the mission of Regnum Christi in its different areas of evangelization (marriage and family, today’s culture, professional environments, and the evangelization of adolescents and young adults).
As they prepare for the work ahead of them, the delegates will also have the report of the General Directive College on the current situation of Regnum Christi with global statistics, challenges, and experiences, as well as the reports of the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women, and the Lay Consecrated Men as input for discussion. Delegates, who will approve the topics to be addressed at the beginning of the Convention, will work in plenary sessions to establish overviews, in groups to discuss contextual issues, and in teams to address the specifics.
Conclusions and expectations
As a result of this journey, it is hoped that the Convention will set the priorities from which Regnum Christi will project its apostolic work in response to the needs of the world for the period 2024-2030, taking into account local needs and cultural differences in each of its nine territories. It is also expected to make key assessments and recommendations for Regnum Christi’s governing bodies, territories, and localities.