Dozens from the Regnum Christi lay movement are meeting in Rome to review their statutes. It is the last stage of the renewal process the Vatican asked them to undergo after revealing the double life of founder Marcial Maciel. It is the last step in order to turn the page and move on once and for all.
KERRIE RIVARD
'It was difficult for a while and I think all of us had to really look deeply within ourselves with prayer and say, ¨God what do you want? What is the good here and where do you call me to be?â? And within my heart, I found that the beautiful things that drew me to Christ, that drew me to Regnum Christi were still there and that they were still valid and there were some things that needed to be purified and needed to be fixed, but He´s led us along that path and He keeps leading us, so we keep following.â?
Kerrie is one of 64 people chosen by the nearly 24,000 members of Regnum Christi to eliminate the negative, and promote the positive aspects of their proposal of Christian life.
She lives in Atlanta (USA) and is married with six children, ages 19 to 7 years old.
KERRIE RIVARD
'In Regnum Christi I've learned how to accept God´s love in a deep way and get to know him. To give myself to him as a wife, as a mother, as a friend. To be able to serve the Church with compassion and with the ability to give of myself as a lay person and to understand my vocation as a lay person in the Church and to try to bring joy and the love of Christ to others. I need the support of my faith to live that well and I found that Regnum Christi really encourages me to follow my vocation in the Church.â?
FRANCISCO DELGADO
'We came to try to re-discover what God is asking of us. To try to regain the intimacy with Christ that we had, and to live the charism within the Church in a renewed way.â?
Francisco studied Law and Business in Barcelona. What excites him is the apostolic aspect of Regnum Christi: it is through your life that others find God.
FRANCISCO DELGADO
'We participate in apostolic activities and we try to bring them to others. We try to show that this meeting we had is open, and anyone can have it.'
During these days they are facing the challenge to reflect on a legal text of the lives of the members of the movement.
It is tough, but a necessary process, for those who will join Regnum Christi in the future to reflect the identity that the Church recognizes.
According to the latest official data, Regnum Christi has nearly 24,000 members. There are 21,500 lay people, and the rest are Legionaries of Christ priests or consecrated laymen and laywomen.
They are also very active in the academic and cultural field: with 14 universities with 34,000 students, 128 schools with 67,000 students, and 37 other 'Helping Hand' schools for children from marginalized areas, with 19,000 students.
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