Lay movements: Part X; The Legion of Mary.

The Legion of Mary is not really a new association but it is one of the most important old ones, and is still doing good work today. The Legion was never really "founded," but began under the inspiration of an Irishman, Frank Duff, born in Dublin in 1889, the eldest of seven children.

After a brilliant school career at Blackrock College, Dublin, he joined the Civil Service (then under Britain) and rapidly advanced to an important position in the Finance Department. But he had been raised in a sincere Catholic family and, as the years went by, realized that there is more to life than making money. So he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Dublin, the object of which is to help the poor. He loved this work but, in visiting the homes of so many poor people, he became conscious of the lack of "practical Christianity."

At that time, in the very early nineteen hundreds, the priest was the Church. There was little of what today we call official lay ministries, apart from the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Frank went to Mass and Holy Communion every morning, spent his lunch time making a Holy Hour in a local church, and prayed the Divine Office daily. He prayed for inspiration and it came. He was a most unassuming but attractive personality and gathered a number of Catholics, both men and women, who were drawn by the sincere practice of his religion and his desire to make the Church, and consequently God, more attractive to what might be termed "ordinary Catholics."

Almost without arrangement, a meeting took place in 1921 at Myra House, which belonged to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. There were fifteen people present, including Frank Duff. One of the ladies-apparently under inspiration-had arranged a table covered with a white cloth on which she had placed a state of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Graces, with two candles in front and a vase of flowers on each side. And so is every Legion table set for meetings all over the world today-eighty years later. This was the beginning of the Legion. The Roman legion, from which the Legion of Mary takes its name, has come down through the centuries illustrious for loyalty, courage, discipline, endurance, and success, and this for ends which were often base and never more than worldly.

Frank Duff's idea was that these qualities should be applied by the Legion of Mary to the spiritual ends of the Church of Christ in conquering the powers of the world and opposing the rule of Satan. Frank always refused to be called the "founder" of the Legion since he claimed that it began under the inspiration of Our Lady.

*Membership in the Legion consists of two different categories: active and auxiliary. Active members are required to attend a weekly meeting of a parish group called a praesidium, where the rosary is recited, spiritual instruction is given, and active apostolic work is assigned to all members. The rosary must be prayed daily and accompanied by the Legion of Mary's own prayer, the catena (a modified version of the Magnificat).

*Since its earliest days the Legion of Mary has specialized in serving society's most afflicted and marginalized people. One of the first institutions formed by the Legion was a safe house for prostitutes who worked the slums of Dublin. In 1927, the Morning Star Hostel was opened for the homeless, the destitute, and the "down and outs" of Dublin. In 1930, the Regina Coeli Hostel, for destitute women and unmarried mothers with children, was opened. These institutions continue to be staffed by unpaid legionaries, some on a full-time basis. Frank Duff worked for more than fifty years in them.

Here are some of the ways in which Legionaries carry out their duties as members of the Army of Mary:

1. Visiting the homes of the people in the parish.

2. Conducting para-liturgical services on Sundays in places where there is no priest to celebrate Mass.

3. Conducting religious instruction classes.

4. Visiting and caring for the handicapped, the sick, and the old, including, when necessary, making arrangements for the visit of a priest.

5. Visiting prisons.

6. Collaborating in every apostolic and missionary undertaking sponsored by the parish.

It would be impossible in anything less than a large book to trace the extraordinary growth of the Legion over the world. According to the latest statistics, the Legion is active in 167 countries and has a membership of over three million. This does not include the millions of auxiliary members, whose chief function is prayer. There are also thousands of junior members. The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The Legion of Mary is an association of lay Catholics founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1921, for the spiritual advancement of its members and the general intensification of Catholic life. On Sept. 7, 1921, a small group of lay people met in Dublin to discover some practical means of translating their discussions on the Mystical Body of Christ and the writing of St. Louis de Montfort into concrete action in the service of their fellow man."

Frank Duff was invited to attend the Second Vatican Council to represent the laity. He died suddenly in his home in 1980 when he was 91 years old.

(*) Some other notable former legionaries include Elfie Lamb, and Edel Quinn. Both Frank Duff and Elfie Lamb are now being considered for beatification. Edel Quinn has already been deemed venerable. These were all model souls whose profound devotion to Mary, humility, and zeal truly reflected the lives of the apostles of old. (+)

Note: (*) Paragraphs are excerpts contributed by Mike Kilbride.

Probably all Canadian dioceses, and many parishes, have the Legion of Mary.