The 2026 General Chapter of the Legionaries of Christ has formally opened in Rome, following a prolonged period in which questions of governance and future direction have been under consideration.
The General Chapter was officially inaugurated on Tuesday 20 January with the celebration of Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome. The inaugural Mass was presided over by Fr John Connor LC, Acting Director General of the Legionaries of Christ, who also delivered the homily marking the beginning of the assembly.
In his address, Fr Connor stated that the Chapter was not merely an administrative exercise but an act of faith. “We do not come only to talk, we come to offer ourselves to God,” he said. Quoting the prophet Joel, he spoke of a time of hope and consolation and encouraged those present to remain receptive to what God may be calling the Legion to become.
Fr Connor also stressed the need for humility and attentiveness in the discussions ahead. “We do not come with fixed conclusions, we come with an open heart to listen and do what God wants for the Legion and for each one of us,” he said.
The General Chapter is the highest governing authority within the Legionaries of Christ and is held every six years. Its responsibilities include evaluating the state of the congregation, proposing guidelines for its future development, electing the General Director and his council, and reaffirming the shared identity and mission of the order. It is understood not simply as a legislative gathering but as a collective exercise of discernment.
This year’s Chapter brings together 60 Legionary priests with voice and vote, representing 14 countries. Of these, 21 participate by right, while 39 have been elected by their respective territories. Twelve of those present hold doctorates in disciplines including theology, philosophy, spirituality, and canon law.
The average age of the Chapter members is 54, with the youngest born in 1989 and the oldest in 1951. Ordinations range from 1983 to 2022, highlighting a mix of long experience and more recent priestly ministry. The Chapter is taking place alongside the General Assembly of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, already meeting in Rome, and the forthcoming Assembly of the Consecrated Laymen, due to begin on 25 January. Deliberations will continue in the coming days, with decisions expected on the future leadership and priorities of the Legionaries of Christ.
The General Chapter comes after the Legionaries of Christ entered one of the gravest periods in its history in early 2009, when the Vatican ordered an Apostolic Visitation of the congregation following mounting revelations of sexual abuse and misconduct by its founder, Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado.
Five bishops from different parts of the world were appointed to conduct the visitation, each responsible for examining the Legion’s life and governance in specific regions. After extensive interviews and inspections, the visitors reported their findings directly to Pope Benedict XVI in April 2010. On 1 May that year, the Vatican issued a statement acknowledging the “very serious and objectively immoral behaviour” of the founder and describing his life as “devoid of scruples”.
The visitation triggered a long process of restructuring. Maciel had already been suspended from public ministry in 2006, initially for breaches of celibacy, before the full extent of his abuse of minors became publicly known. One of the reforms introduced was the abolition of the Legion’s controversial additional vow of “charity”, which had required members to refrain from criticising superiors and had contributed to a culture of secrecy. Pope Benedict XVI lifted the vow in December 2007.
Cardinal Velasio De Paolis was appointed papal delegate to oversee the reform of the Legion and its lay movement, Regnum Christi. Under his guidance, the congregation convened an Extraordinary General Chapter in 2014 aimed at a total restructuring of its internal life and governance.
Further reforms followed, including new statutes adopted in 2019 introducing collegial leadership and greater transparency. That same year, the Legion acknowledged responsibility for 175 cases of child sexual abuse committed by 33 priests, including 60 minors abused by Maciel himself.
In 2020, Pope Francis publicly recognised progress in the Legion’s renewal, praising the new constitutions as reflecting “a new spirit and a new vision of religious life”. Yet allegations continued to surface, including claims that serious abuse cases were inadequately addressed during the reform period.
The question remains whether an institution gravely wounded by its founder’s crimes can truly be renewed, or whether reform eventually reaches a moral and spiritual limit. While the Chapter is primarily concerned with structures and statutes, another issue that is clearly being discussed is trust, and how it can be rebuilt.
This year marks the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Legionaries of Christ, established in 1941 and for decades regarded as one of the most disciplined new congregations in the Church of its time. Its growth, particularly in Latin America and the United States, was once held up as a public defence of the Church. That public success, however, concealed a catastrophic moral failure.
The Holy See’s decision not to suppress the congregation, but instead to place it under apostolic visitation followed by comprehensive restructuring, remains one of the most consequential judgments of recent decades. Rome chose reform over dissolution, arguing implicitly that a charism can outlive its corruption. While there is no definitive answer as to whether that judgment was correct, it has shaped everything that followed, from revised constitutions to new governance structures and public admissions of abuse.
The consultation period unfolding alongside the Legion’s latest General Chapter therefore deserves close attention. The involvement of Rome, and the evident preparedness of the Curia in guiding the process, suggests that much has already been weighed behind closed doors. This Chapter is therefore less about whether reform will continue, and more about how it will be judged, and by whom.
Mexico provides a particularly stark example, as the Legion’s deepest roots are also the site of its deepest wounds. Even during the years of transparency and renewal, many Mexican Catholics felt unheard, having lost trust in their bishops after decades of cover ups and Church institutions weakened by what appeared to be delayed accountability.
The Church must therefore ask not only whether the Legion can continue, but what visible signs of conversion will convince the faithful that lessons have been learned. The future of the Legionaries of Christ will not be decided by this Chapter alone, but by whether they can demonstrate genuine transparency.
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