The Legion of Mary (, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civil servant Frank Duff.
Today, active and auxiliary (praying) members make up a total of over 10 million members worldwide, making it the largest apostolic organization of laypeople in the Catholic Church.
Membership is highest in South Korea, Philippines, Brazil, Argentina and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which each have between 250,000 and 500,000 members.
Membership is open to believing members of the Catholic Church. Its stated mission is for active members to serve God under the banner of Mary through the corporal and spiritual works of Mercy, as mentioned in Chapter 33 of the Legion of Mary Handbook. The main apostolate of the Legion is activities directed towards Catholics and non-Catholics alike, either by encouraging them in their faith or inviting them to become Catholic. This is usually done by supporting them in prayer, attending Mass and learning more about the Catholic faith. Members of the Legion are engaged primarily in spiritual works of mercy, rather than works of material aid.
History
thumb|upright=1.3|Members of the Legion of Mary, including founder Frank Duff, in 1934
The Legion of Mary was founded by Frank Duff on 7 September 1921 at Myra House, Francis Street, Dublin. 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. Most notably, the Legion began helping Dublin’s prostitutes in the Monto, the largest red light district in Europe at the time, to run away from their "kip-keepers" and start new lives. Duff also set up a similar refuge for unwed mothers, but defied the usual consensus in Ireland at the time by teaching the women how to raise their children instead of giving the babies away for adoption. He subsequently laid down the system of the Legion in the Handbook of the Legion of Mary in 1928 the complied activities of the legion.
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.
Most prominent among those who spread the Legion are Edel Quinn (1907-1944) for her activities in Africa in the 1930s and the 1940s. Her dedication to the mission of the Legion, despite her ill health (tuberculosis) brought her admiration: her beatification process is currently underway, as well as for Duff and Alfie Lambe (1932–1959), Legion Envoy to South America.
On 27 March 2014, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Bishop Josef Clemens, delivered the decree in which the Legion is recognized by the Holy See as International Association of the Faithful.
In 2021, the Legion celebrated the centennial of its founding amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, by hosting virtual talks, devotions, and masses. The group also resolved to increase its membership and engagement among young people and to pray for the beatification of Servants of God Frank Duff, Alphonsus Lambe, and Venerable Edel Quin.
Structure
thumb|St Therese’s Club, Mountjoy SquareThe basic unit of the Legion is called a Praesidium, which is normally based in a parish. The Praesidium, usually a group of 3–20 members, meets weekly in its parish. A Curia is the next level above, handling several Praesidia.
The next level is the Comitium, which is in charge of several Curiae, usually over an area like a medium city or part of a province. Above it is the Regia, which is in charge of larger territories like a province or state. The Senatus is the next level, and generally governs the Regiae in a very large area, usually a country or a very large territory: for example, the Senatus of Uganda manages the Legion in the whole of Uganda.
The Concilium is the highest governing level and controls the entire Legion worldwide from its seat in Dublin.
Each level of the Legion has the same set of officers: the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Spiritual Director. The last is always from the clergy, but all other offices are held by the laity.
Spirituality
thumb|right|[[Altar of the Legion]]The spirituality of the Legion of Mary is essentially based on the approach of Louis de Montfort, as put forward in his True Devotion to Mary. The book promotes a "total dedication" to Christ through devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which later influenced popes such as John Paul II, who mentions it in an apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
Another important element that shapes its spirituality is Duff's devotion to the Holy Spirit. He promoted the adoration of the third person of the Trinity, which he considered neglected. He saw the Virgin Mary as the "visible image" of the Spirit; the Legion's introductory prayers and the Legion promise are directed to the Holy Spirit. The Legion's Vexillum Legionis is topped by the Holy Spirit 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 a Catholic lay apostolate organization where ordinary laypeople in all situations of life would work towards personal sanctification and for the conversion of the world was the first of its kind. After the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) promoted such ideas in its conciliar documents, this approach gained wider acceptance in the Catholic Church.
See also
- Frank Duff
- Alfie Lambe
- Edel Quinn
- Laureana Franco
- Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima
- Veronica O'Brien