The ordination, celebrated on May 2 and presided over by Monsignor Juan Vicente Córdoba, Bishop of Fontibón (Bogotá), brought together candidates from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, reflecting the growing weight of Latin America in the generational renewal of the congregation.
The Eucharistic celebration began at 10 a.m. and gathered numerous faithful, including family members and members of Regnum Christi, who accompanied the ordinands after more than a decade of priestly formation.
In his homily, the bishop recalled the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the priestly ministry, emphasizing that the life of the presbyter must be structured around the Eucharist and pastoral service.
He insisted on the need for the priest to embody the model of the Good Shepherd, with constant dedication to the faithful and special attention to the most needy.
Likewise, he entrusted the ministry of the new priests to the Virgin Mary, under the invocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, emphasizing her role in evangelizing life, especially in the Latin American context.
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, of pontifical right and founded in 1941, currently has around 1,500 members, including about 1,000 priests and several hundred seminarians in various stages of formation.
In recent years, a significant part of its vocations comes from Latin American countries, where the institution maintains a broad presence through educational centers, seminaries, and apostolates linked to Regnum Christi.
These ordinations once again place on the table a fundamental issue that the congregation itself has had to address in recent decades: the distinction between the ecclesial charism and the figure of its founder.
The continuity of vocations, especially in Latin America, seems to indicate that, beyond the grave shadows that marked its origin, the Legion has managed to preserve a spiritual and apostolic core that is not exhausted in the personality of its initiator.
At a time when the Church demands greater transparency and institutional purification, the true challenge is not only to grow in number, but to consolidate a credible priesthood, detached from any form of personalism and centered on fidelity to Christ and the ecclesial mission.