Four decades later, the territory of Regnum Christi of Brazil reviews how the first apostolic center was opened, who took the initial steps and what fruits can be seen today in the country, along with the central messages of the commemorative letter of the Territorial Direction College of Brazil. The brief historical journey covers pastoral decisions, collaboration with the dioceses and a work that grew in communities, vocations and projects. What factors made that foundation possible? How does the Territorial Direction College of Brazil invite us to renew the missionary impulse today on this anniversary?
A fertile land
Since 1980, the possibility of starting missionary work in Brazil was already being contemplated. The first Legionaries who arrived quickly confirmed that it was a great «mission land».
The data of the Catholic Church in the country at that time reinforced this perception: about 90 % of the population declared itself Catholic, but there was a great lack of vocations, especially of Brazilian origin. There was barely one priest for every ten thousand inhabitants. Of the 13,155 priests at the time, 7,622 were foreigners and half of them were over 50 years old.
«We are in Brazil because it is a virgin and fertile field, where there is a lack of holy workers and where, once sown, the fruit will be immense,» said the first Legionaries who arrived in Brazil in a newsletter that they sent to the others at that time to inform them of the steps they were taking.
Invitations and first steps
Pope John Paul II suggested to the then Card. Eugenio de Araujo Sales - archbishop of São Sebastião de Rio de Janeiro between 1971 and 2001 - to invite the Legionaries of Christ to work in his archdiocese. Geraldo Micheletto Pellanda, bishop of Ponta Grossa (Paraná), was also at the headquarters of the General Direction of the Congregation in Rome to invite the foundation of a community there.
When these invitations were issued, Cardinal de Rio authorized the chaplaincy of the school. Our Lady of Mercy and appointed a Legionary as pastor of the parish, which served the English-speaking community residing in the city. In Ponta Grossa, the bishop offered a small house of the diocese for the nascent community and authorized the opening of a novitiate, which was inaugurated on January 3, 1987 with two Brazilian novices.
The foundation in Rio de Janeiro
On August 21, 1985, the initiators of the first house of the Legionaries of Christ in Brazil arrived in Rio de Janeiro at night: Fr. Fintan Lawless, L.C. and Fr. Javier Sicilia, L.C., accompanied by Fr.
The newsletter of those years described it as follows: «Now we are living the birth. It is a time of slow processes, of plans and dreams. Everything is still to be done. Days of foundation, with moments of impatience and some fear, but with the certainty that one day the plans will become reality».
The next day, under a heavy rain, the first Mass was celebrated. Fintan explained who the Legionaries of Christ were and what their mission there would be. In the following days, they visited ecclesiastical authorities to obtain permits and to officially erect the house of apostolate. Card. Araujo Sales thanked them for their presence, recommended that they maintain contact with the local clergy and encouraged them to learn Portuguese. Shortly afterwards, Fr. Fintan enrolled at the university to pursue a doctorate and to offer some classes.
Initial growth and expansion
On November 26, 1985, Fr. Eduardo Robles-Gil, L.C. arrived to take over as superior of the community, installed on the floor of the school. Our Lady of Mercy, in the neighborhood of Botafogo. The first apostolic activities were with the English-speaking community, but, with the support of diocesan priests, a group of young people was formed that became the basis of what would become the first Regnum Christi youth group in Brazil.
Eduardo as superior, pastor and director of the youth section; Fr. Javier Sicilia, L.C., as director of the ladies' section; and assigned Fr. Fintan Lawless, L.C., to doctorate and apostolic work at the Pontifical University. In January 1986, Fr. Fintan Kelly, L.C., joined the community, with the mission of going to Ponta Grossa. Finally, in May 1986, Fr. José Cárdenas, L.C., Fr. Fintan Kelly, L.C., and then Brother Jorge Morales, L.C., founded the community in that city.
The first months were filled with experiences such as discovering the national passion for soccer. During the 1986 World Cup, they experienced firsthand how an entire city could stop to watch the national team. The chronicler of the bulletin recorded with a certain humor that: «Every time Brazil plays, life stops in Rio. Not even buses meet...».
A seed that bore fruit
Thus Regnum Christi began with the presence of the Legionaries of Christ in Brazil, in the midst of rain, daily challenges and the contagious joy of a people who live intensely the faith, the warm welcome, the joy and generosity. A seed planted in fertile soil, destined, as those who initiated those moments dreamed, to produce abundant fruits in this immense South American nation.
Today, Regnum Christi in Brazil has about 56 members. legionaries of Christ, 20 consecrated, 1 consecrated layperson, more than 500 teenagers from the ECYD and 1,100 lay members in 17 cities from the south to the northeast of the country.
These numbers show a growing reality of the diverse vocations that are being renewed with the mission and charism of Regnum Christi, dedicated to form formators for the Church and Brazilian society with apostolic dedication.
The 40th anniversary letter from the Territorial Board of Trustees
On August 21, 2025, and within the framework of 40 years of presence in Brazil. The Territorial Board of Directors recalled the «yes» and «let there be» of many people along the way and emphasized the mission of making the Kingdom of Christ present in the diverse realities of the country. By means of a letter, invited all the localities to join in prayer and thanksgiving, celebrating history, vocations and mission.
The text highlights the definitive approval, in February, of the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation by the Holy See, a recognition that gives solidity and stability and favors collaboration for the mission entrusted by the Church. It also frames August as vocation month and presents the campaign «40 years of Regnum Christi in Brazil: a yes that transcends; celebrating vocations that generate new apostles».
The letter invites to be «salt and light» and to urgently bring the love that burns in the Sacred Heart to the most complex human realities of the country; it asks to guard the living charism and to transmit it with piety and apostolic zeal; it recalls the consecration of the territory and Regnum Christi to St. Joseph, and proposes an apostolic lifestyle: to be «salt and light» and to urgently bring the love of the Sacred Heart to the most complex human realities. He closes with a blessing invoking the Virgin of Guadalupe.
With information from “40 years since the first steps in a ‘Land of Missión’.’”.
