Chapter 5: Regnum Christi 70. Alongside the Legionaries of Christ there is the Regnum Christi apostolic movement. Why did you decide to associate this movement to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, and what is its purpose? Closing Mass of the "Megamissions." Each Holy Week the Regnum Christi Movement organizes humanitarian and evangelizing missions for the poorest of the poor. In the year 2002, in Mexico alone, more than 50,000 missionaries took part. When I felt the Holy Spirit move me to found the Legion of Christ on that First Friday, the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1936, I clearly saw that the Lord wanted me to gather a group of people who would go throughout the whole world preaching the Gospel of his love. Since my milieu at the time was a seminary, I logically began to share the idea with my fellow seminarians, but at the core of the inspiration the charism was not restricted to the men who would later be the Legionaries of Christ. It was for all the men and women, including diocesan priests, who wanted to share my longing to bring every last corner of society and every last heart the message of God's love, made known in Jesus Christ. That is how Regnum Christi gradually emerged, as a Catholic movement of apostolate to establish Christ's Kingdom in the world; and fundamental to Christ's Kingdom, what stamps us as Christians, is charity. Hence the name. I drafted the first statutes in 1959, but not until the first groups of Legionaries were formed and we began to start our apostolates was it possible to gather the lay people to give them the spiritual and apostolic formation that would enable them to live their Christian and apostolic vocation deeply. Regnum Christi emphasizes the spirituality of baptism, because at baptism a Christian receives not only all his dignity but also his commitment to grow in holiness and evangelize. Later, when the Second Vatican Council reminded all Christians of their call to holiness and apostolate, we already with our first lay members working along the same lines as the spirit of the Council, which came as a confirmation of our spirituality. Regnum Christi's charism is the same as the Legion of Christ's; it is the means for the Legionaries to do their apostolate. In Regnum Christi we insist on the apostolic nature of the Christian vocation. Christ sent his apostles to the whole world not to keep the treasure of the Gospel to themselves or keep it under the table, but to place it where all could see it and it could provide light for everyone in the house. In his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II reminds us that "faith grows when you share it." When you are convinced about your faith, you can't help sharing it, and when you share it your faith itself grows stronger. This isn't the only trait of Regnum Christi's spirituality, but it is one of the most important, and it has moved the lay people themselves, aware of their Christian vocation to be light of the world and salt of the earth, to start countless apostolic projects that spring from their desire to share the treasure of their Christian faith with others. The Holy Father has confirmed Regnum Christi's spiritual and apostolic charism on several occasions, recently in a letter he saw fit to send me on March 2, 2002. In this letter, the Pope recalled that in Regnum Christi diocesan priests and lay people want to live their spiritual commitments more intensely, following a Christ-centered spirituality, based on a fervent sacramental life and firm loyalty to the Successor of Peter and all the Shepherds of the particular churches; this spirituality helps them to travel firmly the road that leads to the holiness to which all Christians are called. In the same letter, the Pope mentions his esteem for their apostolic zeal, reflected in our many schools and universities, our work with families, the associations that aid the neediest of society, the projects that spread the Christian spirit in the media — all of which Regnum Christi promotes in order to build a civilization of justice and love. A concrete proof of the Holy Father's appreciation and goodwill towards the lay Regnum Christi members is the plenary indulgence they can obtain several times a year if they comply with the established conditions. Regnum Christi members can obtain a plenary indulgence on their incorporation day, on the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows and on the Solemnity of Christ the King, when they yearly renew their intention to continue fulfilling the resolutions they made on joining the Movement. We see this grace that the Holy Father has granted to us as yet another invitation for each one of us to strengthen our friendship with God, our sacramental life, and our desire to establish Christ's Kingdom.