The General Chapter of the Legionaries of Christ elected the new Director General for the period 2026-2032. The election took place in Rome on February 4, 2026, at the headquarters of the General Government. The new Director General is Fr. Carlos Gutiérrez López, L.C., who assumes the task of accompanying the life and mission of the Congregation in a stage marked by the consolidation of the path taken in recent years and by the current challenges of evangelization.
Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora (Mexico), Father Carlos is 51 years old. He entered the Congregation in 1999 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2009. Throughout his ministry he has served in various countries in the Americas and Europe, with pastoral and governmental responsibilities in Chile, Italy, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. Until his election, he served as Territorial Director of Northern Mexico.
His academic background combines studies in industrial and systems engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, a bachelor's degree in philosophy and theology at the Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum and a master's degree in psychology at Divine Mercy University in the United States, which has marked his service in the areas of accompaniment, training and government.
A ministry marked by accompaniment and responsibility
Since the early years of his priesthood, Father Carlos has exercised his ministry in formation and accompaniment of adolescents, youth and families. He was assistant to the ECYD in Santiago de Chile, collaborated in the General Secretariat and supported the territorial apostolic action in Colombia and Venezuela. Later he assumed government responsibilities as community superior in Bogota, territorial councilor in Venezuela and director of ECYD in Monterrey.
Between 2018 and 2022, he served as Territorial Director of Colombia-Venezuela, a stage in which he accompanied communities and apostolic works in a particularly complex social context. Since 2022 he exercised the territorial direction of Northern Mexico, a service that now concludes to assume the responsibility at the head of the Congregation.
Upon accepting the assignment, Father Carlos made the profession of faith and took the oath of fidelity, in accordance with the practice of the Church.
With this election, the General Chapter entrusts the new Director General with the responsibility of accompanying the life and mission of the Congregation, strengthening its contribution to Regnum Christi as a whole and its evangelizing service to all people, with particular attention to the most fragile realities in need of hope.
The election of the new Director General brings to an end the service of Fr. John Connor, L.C., who has held this position since 2020. The Congregation is grateful for his generous dedication, his pastoral governance and his promotion of an institutional culture oriented toward transparency, care and service to people and communion in the Church.
The General Chapter, the supreme governing body of the Congregation, is composed of 60 priests from 13 countries. In the coming days it will continue its work in electing the General Government and in reflecting on various aspects of the life and mission of the Legion of Christ.
This moment marks the beginning of a new stage in the journey that the Congregation continues to follow, with the desire to serve the Church through a renewed religious life, faithful to its charism and attentive to the signs of the times.
Here you can see all the information of the General Chapter 2026 of the Legionaries of Christ.
