Legion of Mary
Legio Mariae | |
Marian devotional society | |
Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
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Key people |
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Website | legionofmary |
The Legion of Mary (
Today, active and auxiliary (praying) members make up a total of over 10 million members worldwide, making it the largest
Membership is highest in
Membership is open to those who belong to the Catholic Church and believe in its teaching. Its stated mission is for active members to serve God under the banner of
History
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The Legion of Mary was founded by Frank Duff on 7 September 1921 at Myra House, Francis Street, in Dublin.[5] His idea was to help Catholic lay people fulfil their baptismal promises to be able to live their dedication to the Church in an organized structure, which would be supported by fraternity and prayer. The Legion draws its inspiration from Louis de Montfort's book True Devotion to Mary.
The Legion first started out by visiting women with cancer in hospitals, but it soon became active among the most destitute, notably among Dublin prostitutes. Duff subsequently laid down the system of the Legion in the Handbook of the Legion of Mary in 1928.
The Legion soon spread around the world. At first, it was often met with mistrust because of its then-unusual dedication to lay apostolate. After Pope Pius XI praised it in 1931, the Legion had its mistrust quelled.[citation needed]
Most prominent for spreading the legion was Edel Quinn (1907-1944) for her activities in Africa in the 1930s and the 1940s. Her dedication to the mission of the legion, even in the face of her ill health (tuberculosis) brought her admiration: her beatification process is currently under way, as well as for Duff and Alfie Lambe (1932–1959), the Legion Envoy to South America.
On 27 March 2014, the Secretary of the
In 2021, the Legion celebrated the
Structure
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The next level is the
The Concilium is the highest level and has its seat in Dublin. It has control over the whole Legion.[8]
Each level of the Legion has the same officers: the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Spiritual Director. The last is always in the clergy, but all other offices are held by the laity.[8] All positions regardless of responsibility are voluntary and the Legion has no paid workers.
Membership
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Entering and leaving
Membership is open to all baptized
Membership in the Legion of Mary is essentially based on discipline and commitment. Members devote their time and prayer for the intentions of Mary, Mother of Jesus.
Members can withdraw from the Legion by informing the president of his or her praesidium.[8]
Types of membership
The Legion of Mary consists of two totally different memberships: the active and the auxiliary members. Both are essential to the Legion: "Just as a bird cannot fly without one wing, so also the Legion cannot exist without any of the other members," said Ráinel Lobo of Mumbai, India.
Active members 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 church. Active members under 18 are not allowed to give the "Legion promise" until that age. They are considered Juniors and may hold any office except President in their Praesidium. Above the level of the Praesidium, no Junior may serve as an officer.[8]
Auxiliary members 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, a higher grade of active membership, pray, in addition to their duties as active members, the Rosary, the
Adjutorians, a higher grade of auxiliary membership, additionally pray the
Praetorians and Adjutors do not have higher status or higher rank inside the legion system. The meaning of the 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.[8]
Meetings
The Praesidia normally meet weekly; larger entities normally monthly or more rarely.[citation needed]
For all sessions, the
During meetings, all the prayers of the Tessera are said. The sessions start out with the introductory prayers to the Holy Spirit and to Mary. They include five decades of the Rosary. The next part of the session includes a spiritual reading and administrative matters. The members tell briefly how they fulfilled their tasks 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, and the Spiritual Director or, if 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 Duff's beatification.[8]
Vexillium Legionis
The Vexillum Legionis (English:the standard of the legion) is placed. The vexillum is made out of metal and onyx and shows the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove as well as the Miraculous Medal.[citation needed]
Spirituality
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