 Fr Álvaro Corcuera, LC with Regnum Christi members in New Zealand
“The real highlight for the young people though will be the Youth Rally on Sunday July 13 where they’ll be celebrating their life as young Catholics in the context of their vocation to Regnum Christi, which simply translates to being intrepid apostles for the new millennium,” says Andrew Devereux who has been busy organizing the YFE in Sydney.
The YFE Youth Rally scheduled for the Sunday night (13 July) will showcase international artists and musicians such as lead singer of Catholic Funk Band, Crispin, and local soul singer, Gary Pinto.
Fr Anthony Bannon LC, one of the Directors for the Legionaries of Christ, will be speaking at the YFE alongside other speakers whose talks will be themed around the call to be “Witnesses … to the ends of the earth!” (Acts 1:8).
Key speakers include Jonathon & Karen Doyle, founding directors of Choicez Media, Chris Meney, the Director of the Marriage, Life & Family Office for the Archdiocese of Sydney and Fr Peter Devereux LC.
As well as this, there will also be time for personal testimonies from young Regnum Christi members such as Adelaide born James Murray, 19, who was recently incorporated into the Regnum Christi (RC) lay movement in Ireland.
“The reason I incorporated into RC was because I had been living the RC 'prayer commitments' already and had reaped some wonderful fruits,” he says.
“In particular daily rosary had become a very intimate encounter with Christ and His Mother for me as I was 26,000 km away from my earthly mother,” Mr Murray continues.
"This prayer was a very spiritual and real consolation for me. So when I was asked to incorporate I was very willing to embrace fully the lifestyle that RC encouraged in a formal manner.”
A unique aspect to the Regnum Christi Movement is its bond with the Legionaries of Christ, which are an order of Priests that were founded in 1941 in Mexico, by Fr Marcial Maciel.
There are approximately 100 members of Regnum Christi spread throughout the major cities of New Zealand and Australia involved in a variety of apostolic activities ranging from Catholic boys and girls clubs to youth missions and retreats for married couples.
Amongst the first members of Regnum Christi in Australasia were Michael and Marie Devereux from Dunedin, New Zealand.
During the celebrations in 1991 of the Legion's 50th anniversary, the Kiwi couple were incorporated into Regnum Christi in Rome.
Now seventeen years later, three of their seven sons are Legionaries of Christ. Fr Peter Devereux LC is based in Atlanta, USA; Fr Matthew Devereux LC resides in Krakow, Poland; and Br Simon Devereux LC is finishing his theological studies in Conneticut, USA in preparation for his own ordination.
Andrew Devereux, 30, feels blessed that nearly half his family are fully consecrated to God in the religious life with the Legionaries of Christ.
“It’s incredible to have two brothers who are priests and one younger brother soon-to-be … God is definitely the protagonist in the family but the role of my parents has been crucial,” he says.
Regnum Christi is amongst the many new ecclesial movements that are fruit of the Holy Spirit working in the Church.
Pope John Paul II, in an audience with members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi in Rome on January 4th 2001, finished his address with the following:
"To you, Legionaries of Christ and members of Regnum Christi, I repeat the words of St Catherine of Siena which I proposed to the young people at the World Youth Day: "If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!"
For James Murray, becoming a member of the lay movement at the end of his six months of missionary work with Regnum Christi in Dublin was a natural progression.
“Regnum Christi isn't a 'club' or a group, it is a way of prayer and life that is designed to bear fruit in the lives of those called to its spirituality. It is a vocation to a particular methodology of prayer that God may be calling you to, in order to more personally and beautifully experience Him,” James Murray says.
For further information on activities and events of Regnum Christi during WYD, including the Youth & Family Encounter Conference, visit: www.worldyouthday.org in English & Español
Image courtesy of Andrew Devereux.
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