The Novitiate and College of Humanities of the

Legionaries of Christ The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marcia ...

Cheshire, Connecticut Cheshire ( ), formerly known as New Cheshire Parish, is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Cheshire was 28,733. The center of population of Connecti ...

, is a formation house dedicated to forming

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

for the Congregation. New members of the Legion of Christ who are assigned to the North-American Territory spend their first fours years here after joining as their first stage of training for religious life and priestly ministry, before studying philosophy and theology in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The formation time in Cheshire is divided into a two-year

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and two years of Humanities. After the second year of Humanities, an

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

Degree is offered. The College is accredited by the State of Connecticut. As of 2018, there are about 20 novices and 70 professed religious studying at the College.

History

The building was constructed in 1961 by the

Missionaries of La Salette The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette (M.S. - Missionarium Saletiniensis) are a religious congregation of priests and brothers in the Latin Church. They are named after the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette in France. There is also a para ...

as a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

. The Legion of Christ acquired the property in 1982 and moved the novitiate from a much smaller house in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. In 1991, the program of humanities was begun and a new wing was added to house the professed seminarians. The novitiate began in the US in a home in Woodmont,

in 1965. In 1971, it was moved to Orange before receiving its current location in Cheshire. As of 2017, all professed novices of the Legion of Christ worldwide who study humanities are doing so in Cheshire.

Novitiate

Legionaries consider the Novitiate the University where one studies Christ. The novitiate is geared towards the profession of the

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

at the end of the two years. Each novice must discern if God is calling him to be a lifelong member of the

Legion of Christ The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marci ...

and a priest. The schedule of the novitiate focuses on prayer and learning the spirit of the congregation. They have daily Mass, rosary, adoration, and spiritual reading. They also have weekly

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

and regular spiritual conferences. Once a year, the novices dedicate a month of their summer to manual labor or, alternatively, charitable work. By such work, they come into contact with the struggles of others who fight to put food on the table.

College of Humanities

At their College of Humanities, the members of the

undertake studies in humanities (Western Civilization, Literature, Art and Music Theory and History), oral and written communication, foreign languages (Latin, Greek, and Spanish), Mathematics, Physics, and Biology for Bioethics. Each year, the humanities students do a week of work with similar goals as the novices month of work.

References

External links

* Official Site of the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, CT
LCCheshire.org
* Official Site of Legion of Christ College of Humanities
LCCollege.org
{{authority control Legion of Christ Catholic universities and colleges in Connecticut Universities and colleges in New Haven County, Connecticut Catholic seminaries in the United States Cheshire, Connecticut