|
THE
LEGION OF MARY
The Legion of Mary (latin:
Legio Mariae) is an association of Catholic laity who serve
the Church on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin,
Ireland, by the Catholic layman Frank Duff, and has today over
three million Active members worldwide. The number of the
Auxiliary members is estimated to about ten million.
To be in the Legion
of Mary, one must be a practicing Catholic. Active members
serve God under the banner of Mary by practicing the Spiritual
Works of Mercy. The main apostolate of the Legion consists
in missionary activities directed towards people from the margins
of society (homeless, prostitutes, prisoners etc.) and towards
non-Catholics. The members of the Legion are also engaged in a
wide variety of works of charity.
HISTORY
The Legion of Mary
was founded by Frank Duff on September 7, 1921 in Dublin.
His idea was to help Catholic laypeople fulfill their baptismal
promises and be able to live their dedication to Jesus Christ and
the Church in an organized structure, supported by fellowship and
prayer.
The Legion was first
only open to women; the first men apart from Duff himself joined
it in 1929. The legionaries first started out by visiting
hospitals, but they were soon active among the most destitute,
notably among Dublin prostitutes. Frank Duff subsequently
laid down the system of the Legion in the Handbook of the
Legion of Mary in 1928.
The Legion of Mary
soon spread from Ireland to other countries and continents.
At first, the Legion often met with mistrust due to its dedication
to lay apostolate which was unusual for the time. Only after
Pope Pius XI expressed praise for the Legion in 1931, could such
mistrust be quelled.
Most prominent for
spreading the Legion was the Irish legionary Edel Mary Quinn for
her activities in Africa during the 1930s and 40s. Her
dedication to the mission of the Legion even in the face of her
ill health due to tuberculosis brought her great admiration in and
outside of the Legion. A beatification process is currently
under way for her, as also for Frank Duff himself. At the
end of each Legion meeting, the legionaries pray for the
beatification of the founder of their organization.
THE SYSTEM OF THE
LEGION
Structure
The organization of
the Legion is modeled on Roman Army starting with the praesidium
as its smallest unit, and going up from there. The
praesidium, usually a group of 4-20 members, meets weekly in its
parish. The Curia is the next level up, and one Curia
supervises several Praesidia. The next level is the Comitium,
which is in charge of several Curiae, usually over an area like a
big city or a part of a province. The following level is the
Regia, in charge of larger territories like a province or state
(in the U.S.). The Senatus is the next highest level, and it
generally has control over the Regiae in a very large area,
usually a country or very large territory. The Concilium is
the highest level. It has its seat in Dublin, Ireland, and
has control over all of the Legion.
Each level of the
Legion of Mary has the same officers: The President, the Vice
President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Spiritual
director. The latter must be a priest or a religious.
All other officers are held by laymen or women.
Membership
Entering and leaving
the Legion
Membership is open
to all baptized members of the Catholic Church. From the
second attended meeting on, a person is considered to have a
preliminary membership. This preliminary period may last up
to six months, after which he or she has to decide whether to
fully enter the Legion or leave it.
Members who enter
the Legion have to give the "Legion promise", a Pledge of
allegiance to the Holy Spirit and to Mary according to a fixed
formula. Spiritual directors of the Legion may also give
this promise, but are not required to do so.
Membership in the
Legion of Mary is essentially based on discipline and commitment,
not on a formal system. There is no written contract and no
membership fee, apart from voluntary donations. Leaving the
Legion can thus be done in an informal way: by informing the
Praesidium that one is leaving or by simply stopping to attend
Legion meetings.
Types of membership
Active members:
They
regularly attend the weekly sessions of their praesidium
and pray daily the prayer of the Legion, the Catena Legionis,
which consists essentially of the Magnificat and some shorter
prayers. Their main role lies in active apostolate for the
Legion and the Chruch. Active members under the age of 18
are not allowed to give the "Legion promise" until they turn 18.
Members 18 and under are considered Juniors, and are able to hold
any office except President in their praesidium.
Above the level of the praesidium, no Junior may serve as
an officer.
Auxiliary
members:
They support the Legion through their prayer. They pray the
whole booklet of Legion prayers, the Tessera, every day.
The Tessera consists of the Invocation, prayers to the Holy
Spirit, the Rosary, the Catena, and the concluding prayers of the
Tessera.
Praetorians:
This is a
higher grade of active membership. Additionally to their
duties as active members, Praetorians pray the Rosary, the Divine
Office and go to Holy Mass daily.
Adjutorians:
A higher
grade of auxiliary membership. Adjutorians additionally pray
the Divine Office and go to Holy Mass daily.
Praetorians and
Adjutors do not have higher status or higher rank inside the
Legion system. The meaning of these grades is only a desire
for a more devotional life, not for higher status. Entering
the grade is done by registering with a list of Praetorians/Adjutors
and by subsequently observing their duties.
THE LEGION MEETING
 The
praesidia of the Legion normally meet weekly, larger entities
normally monthly or at even rarer occasions.
For all sessions,
the Altar of the Legion is set up (see picture). This
consists of a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary (represented as a
modestly dressed, humble, pure, and holy woman standing on a
globe, her arms extended, crushing the serpent with her foot) that
is placed on a white tablecloth that as "Legio Mariae" written on
it. On the two sides of the statue are placed two vases with
flowers, often roses (the flower connected with Mary). On
the front ends of the cloth stand two candlesticks with burning
candles. On the right side of Mary, the vexillium
Legionis (standard of the Legion) is placed. It is made
out of metal and onyx and shows the Holy Spirit in the form of a
dove, as well as the Miraculous Medal.
During the meetings,
all prayers of the Tessera are said. The sessions start out
with the introductory prayers to the Holy Spirit and Mary.
These include five decades of the Rosary. The following part
of the session includes a spiritual reading and administrative
matters. Each member tells in short words how he or she has
fulfilled their task assigned to them at the previous session.
They also discuss and/or read a chapter from the Handbook of the
Legion. Then the Catena Legionis is prayed,
afterwards the Spiritual director or (if he is absent) the
President holds a short sermon about spiritual matters (allocutio).
Finally, the new tasks for the legionaries are distributed.
Each meeting ends with the concluding prayers of the Tessera
and a prayer for Frank Duff's beatification.
SPIRITUALITY
The spirituality of
the Legion of Mary is essentially based on the approach of St.
Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort as put forward in his book True
Devotion to Mary. Grignon de Montfort promoted a "total
dedication: to Christ through devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Another important element that shaped Legion spiritually was Frank
Duff's devotion to the Holy Spirit. He promoted the (in
popular devotion often neglected) adoration of the Third Person of
the Trinity through the Virgin Mary, whom he saw was the "visible
image" of the Spirit. This is why the introductory prayers
and the Legion promise are directed to the Holy Spirit and the
vexillium Legionis bears its image in the form of a dove.
The essential aim of the Legion of Mary is the sanctification of
its members through prayer, the sacraments and devotion to Mary
and the Trinity, and of the whole world through the apostolate of
the Legion.
The idea of an
organization where ordinary laypeople in all situations of life
would work for their own sanctification and for the conversion of
the world was groundbreaking for its time. Only when the
Second Vatican Council (1962-65) promoted such ideas in its
documents did such an approach gain wider acceptance in the
Catholic Church. |
