The Lord is present
On April 20, the appointment of Fr. Alberto Simán as territorial director of Mexico and Central America was announced. On the day he begins his service as superior, we publish a June 28 conversation with the director of Regnum Christi's institutional communications office, Pablo Pérez de la Vega.
Thank you for giving us this interview. You were born in El Salvador, which is also part of our territory. Many Legionaries know you, but other members of Regnum Christi perhaps not so much. Who is Fr. Alberto Simán?
Thanks to you, Pablo, for this opportunity to start a conversation with all of the members of the Regnum Christi of the territory. In these times of social distancing, these media also help us to find each other.
Who is Alberto Simán? First of all, a sinner redeemed by pure mercy. I like to meditate that I am someone who has experienced the infinite mercy of God, who has been present in my life continuously and in an evident way.
As you say, I was born in San Salvador, in the bosom of a loving and very united family, in spite of being very big. I am the youngest of 6 siblings and many cousins. Our parents, who are now deceased, shared almost 50 years together. They had a truly exemplary marriage. I began my education with the Marists in San Salvador. From 4th grade on, I studied in a school of the Marist Brothers in San Salvador. Opus Dei. Those were very beautiful but very painful years, since I lived part of my childhood and all my adolescence during the civil war of the eighties. I finished high school in 1989 and started college in North Carolina, USA. In December 1993 I graduated as an industrial engineer. I then worked professionally in Miami and later in San Salvador.
In 1997 I got to know the Regnum Christi, during the Megamission. In 1998 I left as a collaborator and was fortunate to spend a year in Hermosillo. I entered the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in Monterrey the following year. I was ordained a priest in December 2007 at the feet of the Virgin Mary, in the Basilica of Santa Maria la Mayor. In these 13 years of priesthood I have worked in general administration and secretary and then I was a member of the team of formators of the philosophy students at the International College of the Legionaries of Christ in Rome. In 2015 I was appointed rector of that house of formation. Finally, in November 2018 I arrived in Mexico as delegate of the territorial director for religious life.
We are all called to holiness and God proposes concrete ways to fulfill this vocation that springs from baptism. How did you discover your vocation to become a Legionary priest?
Looking back, I discover that God began to hint to me about His plan after an automobile accident I suffered in 1996. During my year as a co-worker with the Regnum Christi we could say that it began to become clearer. I began to perceive interiorly that the Lord was asking me for something more. Honestly, I had planned to give him a year and then go to the United States to pursue a master's degree in administration. I was so determined that I had already scheduled interviews with 3 or 4 universities as part of the admission process.
At the same time, I sensed in my heart a growing attraction to help other people find Jesus Christ as I had found him, but I was not clear on how. During the retreat in January 1999 I discussed these concerns with my spiritual director, who fortunately was present. Father simply told me to go to Christ the Eucharist and ask Him. That is what I did.
It was a recurring question in those days of silence and prayer. When he wanted to, the Lord was present and made me perceive with great clarity and consolation that he wanted me as a Legionary priest. Of course, I felt a lot of fear. Then I had a thousand questions and the worry of having to tell my family and, in my case, my girlfriend. That made me very anxious, but deep down I lived with a lot of peace.
That same summer I went to the Legion of Christ candidacy in Monterrey to test whether it was my path or not. On September 15 I entered the novitiate. The strength of his call has accompanied me at all times and has been maturing ever since.
If you were ordained in 2007, you are celebrating 13 years as a priest. How have these years of priesthood been?
These thirteen years have been years of lights and shadows, but always experiencing the hand of Christ clinging to mine. Few things in life compare with the experience of feeling the action of God's grace touching someone's heart and changing a life, and feeling like an unworthy instrument of whom the Lord makes use. That is wonderful!
They have also been hard years and, at times, arid and humiliating. I have suffered in perceiving how the bad witness and crimes of some of Christ's ministers, especially of my brothers in the priesthood and in the Congregation, harm the Church and people.
My life and apostolate as a lay member of the Movement and my experience as a collaborator have been greatly enriched after my ordination. In spite of having had several apostolates that we could call «office» and also as a formator of Legionaries, the experiences of Holy Week missions, the encouragement of the philosopher brothers in their initiatives and desires to carry out their own mission, the confessions in the parish in Rome have always filled me with enthusiasm to help Christ to reign in more hearts, so that more people may know him, love him and follow him.
What would you say to the friars you accompanied in their formation in Rome?
That one of the greatest privileges in my priestly life is to have been able to walk with them in their vocational discernment and that, each one of them, with their very personal story, I carry in my heart. I remember those years in Rome with great affection. Perhaps they are the most beautiful of my priesthood so far. I laughed and suffered with them. I learned a lot from them. I pray to God for them every day at Mass, both for those who are still on the road to the priesthood and for those who have seen that God was calling them to follow Christ in other directions. It is always a source of satisfaction to see them forging mature Christian personalities.
What went through your mind when you were appointed territorial director?
I honestly thought at first that this was a mistake. The Legion of Christ in general, and the territory of Mexico and Central America in particular, have many challenges ahead of them and that can make anyone tremble. After the news, I went to the chapel to talk to Cristo and ask him if he was sure about this because, at least for me, I did not feel capable.
Aware of the challenges and difficulties, I assume this assignment with confidence in Him and as a service to my brother legionaries, to the members of the Legion and to the members of the Regnum Christi and to this portion of the Church on pilgrimage in Mexico and Central America. Government is like this: a cross and a service to others.
I would like to take advantage of your question, Pablo, to thank Fr. Ricardo Sada for his dedication and hard work during the six years he has been territorial director. He has had the difficult mission of implementing in practice the new constitutions promulgated in 2014 and guiding in the territory all the work for the canonical configuration of Regnum Christi. All this in a large, complex territory, with a significant apostolic presence and many members of the Movement committed to the mission of the Church. You have my gratitude and my prayers for the mission that the Legion now entrusts to you.
What challenges will you face as territorial director and as a member of the Regnum Christi Territorial Board of Directors?
I believe that, as territorial director of the Legion of Christ, the main challenge will be to continue promoting the process of renewal that we have been engaged in for years. In particular, there is the spiritual renewal of the Legionaries and the close accompaniment of each one of them. There is no renewal in the Church that does not begin with a profound interior transformation in each person, which is born from a personal encounter with Christ. It is a slow process. Changes in norms, processes or structures are not enough. This can happen more or less quickly. The real changes are those of the heart, fruit of grace and personal asceticism. It is an amalgam between the grace of God that cries out within us for holiness and the freedom of man, who does not always respond as He expects, and which all Christians, beginning with St. Paul, experience.
We also have ahead of us the issue of safe environments. I firmly intend to continue the work begun in recent years in the field of abuse prevention, protection of the most vulnerable, and adequate care for victims. I believe that we still have a lot to learn and a long way to go and that, unintentionally, we have made mistakes along the way that have caused even more pain. I look forward to collaborating with ecclesial and civil authorities, as well as other experts, and to benefiting from their guidance and advice. This is an area where there is always room for improvement and where both civil society and the Church still have much to learn.
As president of the Territorial Board of Directors of the Regnum Christi, Together with the consecrated women, the consecrated laity and the laity, we must continue to deepen and assimilate our identity so that, from there, we can promote an apostolate that responds to the great challenges that exist in society. I believe that among our priorities are the promotion of vocations, the formation of young apostles to evangelize young people, the formation of young couples who are apostles for their children, as well as the work in favor of the poorest, life and the family. The colleges and universities, as well as the sections of the Regnum Christi and the ECYD should be privileged places to form apostles who put their qualities and leadership at the service of the Gospel, the most needy, and the common good.
When I arrived in Mexico in 2018, I came across the Global Pastoral Project 2031-2033 of the Mexican Episcopal Conference. In it, the bishops make a discernment and mark several lines of action to prepare us for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupan event in 2031 and the two thousandth anniversary of the redemption in 2033. The Church in Mexico, and we with her, are preparing to welcome the special graces that the Lord will give us on these significant dates. We must be attentive to contribute our own and learn from the other realities that the Holy Spirit raises in the Church and thus build communion.
Speaking of the local church, a priority point for me is the accompaniment of the Legionaries who, in the last 50 years, have dedicated themselves to evangelization in Quintana Roo, to the point that it is no longer a prelature and will be erected a diocese as soon as the sanitary conditions allow it. We have much to learn from our missionaries.
In a world with so many challenges, what attitude do you think RC members should have today?
The members of the Regnum Christi have been characterized by a great evangelizing impulse and a sense of healthy urgency and interior ardor to make Christ known. I believe that this is an attitude that the Holy Spirit has placed in our hearts and that we should promote among all our members, be they lay, consecrated or legionaries.
What is your vision for the work that Regnum Christi should carry out in the coming years?
The work of the Regnum Christi towards the future is the same as that of the Church and is inserted in that of the Church. As Pope Francis says, we are not living in an epoch of change, but in a change of epoch. This demands of us, in my opinion, two fundamental things. The first is a life of intimate and profound prayer that opens our hearts to holiness. The second is to know how to discern the signs of the times in order to identify the needs of the Church and her evangelizing mission in today's society, and also to know how to embrace what best responds to these needs and to leave behind what no longer does.
The family is suffering an unprecedented crisis, the youth swim in the midst of an anti-Christian and aggressive sea, gender ideology is generating a lot of confusion, abortion seems to be gaining ground everywhere, violence and corruption are invading the social fabric like a cancer... What does the Holy Spirit say to us, members of the Regnum Christi through all these signs? We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of Christ and his Church. Every Christian is God's response to the advance of evil and the culture of death. Therefore, the member of the Regnum Christi seeks new ways to bring the message of Christ; he is creative and daring to make it known, to dedicate his means to help those most in need, to form in the faith those who do not know Christ and what He has done for every man and woman, to be an instrument of God's mercy for all those around him.
What message would you say to the members of Regnum Christi in the context of the health emergency we are experiencing?
That we are not alone. That Christ is in the boat and that, although He sometimes sleeps, He never abandons us. Sometimes it seems that God does not hear us or does not want to act and this discourages us. But God is Dad, the best Dad, and He never leaves us. In the face of so many challenges and difficulties, let us not fail to invoke Mary and ask her to cover us under her mantle. It helps me to repeat continually: Sacred Heart of Jesus, in you I trust. At the same time, I would also tell them to be responsible citizens, to take the proper hygienic precautions to avoid contagion; to be in solidarity with the neediest and to look for ways to support them. In our schools and universities we are trying to help those who are most affected, not only in their health, but also those whose livelihoods are compromised or endangered.
I would also like to acknowledge the work being done by the Legionaries of Christ, consecrated women, consecrated men and women and lay people in social networks and in assisting the sick. In these months we have seen the creativity to use the new technologies to offer hope through masses, conferences, workshops, congresses and so many actions that they carry out.
It is also worthy of recognition all the initiatives of solidarity, such as getting food pantries, promoting local consumption, joining efforts with the diocesan Caritas, etc., that we have seen in many members of the Regnum Christi.
We appreciate this moment of conversation. Finally, would you like to send a message to the RC members?
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude for your prayers and closeness. I recently received, for example, spiritual bouquets from the members of the Regnum Christi from El Salvador and Guatemala, and many messages from other members assuring me of their prayers. On my part, I commend each one daily during the Eucharistic celebration.
I would also like to invite all members of the Regnum Christi to allow ourselves to be renewed within by the Holy Spirit, who wants to make Christ the center of our life. I believe that He asks us to throw ourselves without hesitation into contributing decisively to the evangelizing mission of the Church. This can only be achieved through daily dedication and the effort to respond to this inner call to holiness, to try to be one of the saints next door, as Pope Francis says.
We have had very difficult years and, yes, we have made many mistakes that hurt and embarrass us. I too ask forgiveness for them. But the past should only serve us to learn and improve, to ask forgiveness and make reparation for our faults, and to dedicate ourselves with greater apostolic ardor and commitment to the mission of going into the world and proclaiming the Gospel. Let us not stop. Let us seek to bring the Gospel to all the men and women of our time, seeking to let Christ reign in their hearts, because it is Christ himself who has wanted to invite us to collaborate with him.
Thank you very much for this conversation.
