The novitiate in Ireland.

In April of 1960, the Legion of Christ opened its first house in Bundoran, County Donegal, preparing the land for a new novitiate on Irish soil. On June 3rd of 1962, thanks to the support of the Holy See’s Nuncio in Ireland, Bishop Antonio Riberi, and the benevolence of the archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, the novitiate was inaugurated in Hazelbrook House, Malahide. The current Legionary novitiate has been located since 1968 on the Leopardstown road in the suburb of Foxrock, Dublín.

In those days, Ireland’s Catholic tradition offered a very favorable environment for the formation of future priests and consecrated souls. For this reason, the first formation center for the consecrated women of the Regnum Christi Movement was opened in Dublin in the first months of 1970.

In the 1970s, the first language academies of the Legion were founded: first came Dublin Oaks Academy for boys, followed by its sister school for girls, Woodlands Academy, which was located in the same city. Since then, the Legionaries in Ireland have worked in clubs for teenagers and with Regnum Christi teams for youth and adults. 

The project of founding a school for Irish children took a long time to materialize. The moment finally arrived in the year 2000 when they opened the Oakhill Junior School in the locality of Foxrock, Dublin. The school opened with great success, offering pre-school up to third grade.

At this time, the Legionaries and Regnum Christi members working in Ireland have developed other apostolates like the “Dal Riada” Center for Integral Development of the Family, which offers tools for family development in all its dimensions. Recently, they have also launched the "K4J" (Kids for Jesus) magazine of NET. The purpose of this program is to form and build up children’s clubs in Christian and families. They have also created the “Clonlost” Activities Center in Dublin, where youth and teenagers can receive academic and spiritual guidance in a healthy atmosphere.

For more information, contact:
Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi
Leopardstown Road
Foxrock, Dublin 18
IRELAND
ireland@legionaries.org

Web sites:
www.dublinoakacademy.com
www.woodlands-academy.org
www.catholickidsnet.org