Local Regnum Christi movement spreading the faith

The lay Catholic movement Regnum Christi New Orleans hosted a Mass at St. Louis Cathedral and spring dinner cruise April 11 on the City of New Orleans riverboat. 

The event honored the Legionaries of Christ’s efforts over the past seven years locally under the leadership of local superior, Legionaries of Christ Father Jacob DuMont, who was recently reassigned to Georgia as territorial secretary for North America.

Legionaries of Christ Father Gregory Heslip, who has been a priest for 10 years and in New Orleans for five years, was named his replacement as new superior.

“Louisiana is very Catholic,” Father Heslip said. “Because of that, there are lots of opportunities to continue to help people live out their faith.”

Still growing in Louisiana
The Legionaries of Christ and its Regnum Christi lay movement have grown in Louisiana. There are now seven priests and two lay Regnum Christi lay missionaries who live in community in Mandeville. And, there are approximately 350 lay Regnum Christi lay members in five sections of Louisiana –  Northshore, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles.

“Our key mission as Legionaries is working with the lay people to evangelize the culture, evangelize souls through Regnum Christi and working with them hand-in-hand through ministries and apostolates,” Father DuMont said.

Having one-on-one relationships with people as Christ did with his 12 apostles and “forming Christian apostles and enabling lay people to bring the faith to other people, especially in today’s world,” is key to the Legionaries of Christ, Father Heslip said. 

Because of the community’s growth, their home in Mandeville reached capacity and had to add three rooms to accommodate the nine men living there.

Individually, the priests have specific ministries working with adults, families and youth. For example, Father DuMont was chaplain, among many other ministries, for a chapter of Lumen – a faith formation initiative with Catholic businessmen and women to bring faith into the workplace – which he established three years ago.

Father Heslip and Father Michael Luxbacher are chaplains for Regnum Christi in Louisiana, and Father Luxbacher will assume chaplaincy for Lumen. They coordinate many faith formation activities, including retreats and spiritual direction with members.

“Wherever we go, we also do quite a bit with the local parishes” in marriage prep, couples retreats, missions and help with Willwoods’ “Climbing the Sycamore Tree” podcast as an evangelization for men, Father DuMont said.

The Legionaries of Christ also evangelize young adults. Father Luxbacher is now chaplain of the Young Catholic Professionals group in New Orleans. Fathers Jaime Lorenzo and Gregory Usselmann help with middle school and high school youth ministries for Regnum Christi. For example, Father Usselmann is chaplain and helps with leadership training at Christian Brothers School.

They also conduct weekend youth retreats and offer the Conquest through parishes, and the Legionaries of Christ run Camp Bocamb for boys and girls in Folsom.

Members see faith explode
Ann Stevens, who is coordinator of Regnum Christi women’s section in New Orleans, has been part of the lay movement for 21 years. She said her faith has grown exponentially since she joined.

“It’s just changed my life,” Stevens said. “I’ve always loved my church and the Catholic faith and was active in it, but I recognized that God was calling me to a deeper way to learn to pray. I was seeking like-minded families who had that burning desire to transmit the faith to others. Through Regnum Christi, I found others who were drawn to Christ-centered spirituality, a deeper prayer life and impelled to go out and share with others. It gave me a new perspective where I had such peace and joy.”

To discover upcoming Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi events or for more information, visit https://rclouisiana.com.

[email protected]