44 Legionaries Ordained by Vatican Official

In his homily, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute for general affairs of the secretariat, said the Christmas Eve ceremony "fills the holy Church with joy and makes us think spontaneously about the words of Jesus: 'By their fruits you shall know them.'"

The new priests come from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Chile, Brazil and Korea.

The founder of the Legion of Christ and the apostolic movement Regnum Christi, Father Marcial Maciel, was present for the ordinations in the congregation's Center for Higher Studies.

The Legion was founded in Mexico in 1941, and is now present in 20 countries in the Americas, Europe and Oceanía. The congregation has 550 priests and 2,500 seminarians.

More information is at http://www.legionofchrist.org.