Legio Mariae | |
.png) Vexillium Legionis | |
| Abbreviation | LOM, Legionis |
|---|---|
| Formation | 7 September 1921; 104 years ago (1921-09-07) |
| Founder | Servant of God Frank Duff |
| Type | Catholic lay society Marian devotional society |
| Headquarters | Dublin,Ireland |
Official language | English and Ecclesiastical Latin |
Key people |
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| Website | legionofmary |
TheLegion of Mary (Latin:Legio Mariae,postnominal abbreviationL.O.M.) is an international association of members of theCatholic Church who serve on avoluntary basis.[1] It was founded inDublin, as aMarian movement by the layman and civil servantFrank Duff.
Today, active and auxiliary (praying) members make up a total of over 10 million members worldwide, making it the largestapostolic organization oflaypeople in the Catholic Church.[2]
Membership is highest inSouth Korea,Philippines,Brazil,Argentina and theDemocratic Republic of Congo, which each have between 250,000 and 500,000 members.[3]
Membership is open to believing members of the Catholic Church. Its stated mission is for active members to serve God under the banner ofMary through thecorporal and spiritual works of Mercy, as mentioned in Chapter 33 of theLegion of Mary Handbook. The mainapostolate of the Legion is activities directed towards Catholics and non-Catholics alike, either by encouraging them in their faith or inviting them to become Catholic. This is usually done by supporting them in prayer, attendingMass and learning more about the Catholic faith. Members of the Legion are engaged primarily in spiritual works of mercy, rather than works of material aid.[4]
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The Legion of Mary was founded byFrank Duff on 7 September 1921 atMyra House, Francis Street,Dublin.[5] His idea was to help Catholic lay people fulfil theirbaptismal promises to be able to live their dedication to the Church in an organized structure, which would be supported byfraternity andprayer. The Legion draws its inspiration fromLouis de Montfort's bookTrue Devotion to Mary.
The Legion first started out by visiting women withcancer inhospitals, but it soon became active among the most destitute. Most notably, the Legion began helping Dublin’sprostitutes in theMonto, the largestred light district inEurope at the time, to run away from their "kip-keepers" and start new lives. Duff also set up a similar refuge for unwed mothers, but defied the usual consensus in Ireland at the time by teaching the women how to raise their children instead of giving the babies away for adoption. He subsequently laid down the system of the Legion in theHandbook of the Legion of Mary in 1928 the complied activities of the legion.
The Legion soon spread around the world. At first, it was often met with mistrust because of its then-unusual dedication tolay apostolate. AfterPope Pius XI praised it in 1931, the Legion had its mistrust quelled.[citation needed]
Most prominent among those who spread the Legion areEdel Quinn (1907-1944) for her activities inAfrica in the 1930s and the 1940s. Her dedication to the mission of the Legion, despite her ill health (tuberculosis) brought her admiration: herbeatification process is currently underway, as well as for Duff andAlfie Lambe (1932–1959), Legion Envoy to South America.
On 27 March 2014, the Secretary of thePontifical Council for the Laity, BishopJosef Clemens, delivered the decree in which the Legion is recognized by theHoly See as InternationalAssociation of the Faithful.[6]
In 2021, the Legion celebrated thecentennial of its founding amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic, by hostingvirtualtalks,devotions, andmasses. The group also resolved to increase its membership andengagement amongyoung people and to pray for the beatification of Servants of GodFrank Duff,Alphonsus Lambe, andVenerable Edel Quin.
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The basic unit of the Legion is called aPraesidium, which is normally based in aparish. The Praesidium, usually a group of 3–20 members, meets weekly in its parish. ACuria is the next level above, handling several Praesidia.[7]
The next level is theComitium, which is in charge of several Curiae, usually over an area like a medium city or part of a province. Above it is theRegia, which is in charge of larger territories like a province or state. TheSenatus is the next level, and generally governs the Regiae in a very large area, usually a country or a very large territory: for example, theSenatus of Uganda manages the Legion in the whole ofUganda.
The Concilium is the highest governing level and controls the entire Legion worldwide from its seat inDublin.[8]
Each level of the Legion has the same set of officers: the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Spiritual Director. The last is always from the clergy, but all other offices are held by the laity.[8] All positions regardless of responsibility are voluntary and the Legion has no paid workers.
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Membership is open to all baptizedCatholics. After visiting a Praesidium a few times, one can join the Legion as a probationary member for three months. Then, a decision is made on whether one is to join the Legion as an active member permanently. During the probationary period, probationary members learn about the Legion system by reading theHandbook of the Legion of Mary and its active works by listening to reports of such undertaking by fellow Legionaries. At the end of probationary period, members swear the "Legion promise", a pledge of allegiance to theHoly Spirit and to Mary, and become permanent active members.
Membership in the Legion of Mary is essentially based on discipline and commitment. Members devote their time and prayer for intentions through theintercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus.
Members can withdraw from the Legion by informing the president of his or her Praesidium.[8]
The Legion of Mary consists of two totally different memberships: the active and the auxiliary members. Both are essential to the Legion: "Just as a bird cannot fly without one wing, so also the Legion cannot exist without any of the other members," said Ráinel Lobo ofMumbai,India.
Active members regularly attend weekly sessions of their Praesidium and pray daily theCatena Legionis, which consists essentially of theMagnificat and some shorter prayers. Their main role lies in active apostolate for the Legion and the wider Church. Active members under 18 are not allowed to give the "Legion promise" until that age. They are considered Juniors and may hold any office except President in their Praesidium. Above the level of the Praesidium, no Junior may serve as an officer.[8]
Auxiliary members support the Legion through their prayer. They pray the whole booklet of Legion prayers, theTessera, every day. TheTessera consists of an Invocation, prayers to the Holy Spirit, theRosary, theCatena Legionis, and concluding prayers.
Praetorians are a higher grade of active membership, who pray, in addition to their duties as active members, the Rosary, theDivine Office and attendHoly Mass daily.
Adjutorians are a higher grade of auxiliary membership. Like Praetorians, they additionally pray theDivine Office and attendHoly Mass daily.
Praetorians and Adjutors do not have a higher status or higher rank inside the Legion system. The meaning of the grades is only a desire for a more devotional life, not for higher status. Entering these grades is done by registering with a list of Praetorians/Adjutors and by subsequently observing their duties.[8]
The Praesidia normally meet weekly; larger entities normally monthly or more rarely.[citation needed]
In all sessions, anAltar of the Legion is set up. It has a statue of theVirgin Mary (represented as standing on a globe, her arms extended, crushing theserpent with her foot), which is placed upon a whitetablecloth with "Legio Mariae" written on it. On each side of the statue are placed twovases withflowers, oftenroses (a flower symbolisingMary). On the front ends of the cloth are two candlesticks with burning candles. To the right side of Mary is placed theVexillum Legionis.[citation needed]
During meetings, the prayers of theTessera are said in full. Sessions begin with introductory prayers to the Holy Spirit and to Mary, including five decades of theRosary. The next part of the session includes a spiritual reading and administrative matters. Members tell briefly how they fulfilled tasks assigned to them at the previous session. They also discuss and/or read a chapter from theHandbook of the Legion. Then, theCatena Legionis is prayed, and the Spiritual Director (or, if absent, the President), preaches a shortsermon on spiritual matters (allocutio). Finally, new tasks for Legionaires are distributed. Each meeting ends with concluding prayers of theTessera, and a prayer for Duff'sbeatification.[8]
TheVexillum Legionis (English: Standard of the Legion) is placed on the Altar of the Legion at every meeting. Thevexillum is made out ofmetal andonyx, and shows theHoly Spirit in the form of adove, as well as theMiraculous Medal.The staff is set in a glove which, for use on a table, stands on a square base. The whole design conveys the idea that the world is to be conquered by theHoly Spirit acting throughMary and her children.[citation needed][9]
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The spirituality of the Legion of Mary is essentially based on the approach ofLouis de Montfort, as put forward in hisTrue Devotion to Mary.[10] The book promotes a "total dedication" to Christ through devotion to theBlessed Virgin Mary, which later influenced popes such asJohn Paul II, who mentions it in anapostolic letter,Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
Another important element that shapes its spirituality is Duff's devotion to theHoly Spirit. He promoted the adoration of the third person of theTrinity, which he considered neglected. He saw theVirgin Mary as the "visible image" of the Spirit; the Legion's introductory prayers and the Legion promise are directed to the Holy Spirit. The Legion'sVexillum Legionis is topped by the Holy Spirit in the form of adove.
The essential aim of the Legion of Mary is the sanctification of its members throughprayer, thesacraments anddevotion to Mary and the Trinity, and of the whole world through the apostolate of the Legion.
The idea of aCatholic lay apostolate organization where ordinary laypeople in all situations of life would work towards personal sanctification and for the conversion of the world was the first of its kind.[citation needed] After theSecond Vatican Council (1962–65) promoted such ideas in its conciliar documents, this approach gained wider acceptance in the Catholic Church.[11]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)| International associations of the faithful |
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