In order that the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen fulfill its mission to preserve the doctrines and traditions of the one true Faith, it must have priests to defend these teachings, dispense the life-giving Sacraments of the Church and be everywhere the “good odor of Jesus Christ.” It is the goal of this Congregation to form truly Marian priests, the apostles of the latter days for whom St. Louis Marie de Montfort prayed two centuries ago: “True servants of the Blessed Virgin, who, like other St. Dominics, would go everywhere with the bright and burning torch of the holy Gospels in their mouth and the Holy Rosary in their hand....”
The Marian priests make profession of the simple religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and live according to a rule based on that of the Servite Order. Their spirit is distinctly Marian, and is based on the Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort.
Within the Congregation there is a custom which symbolizes the mission of the Marian priests and their dedication to Our Lady. Immediately after the ordination ceremony, the newly-ordained kneels with his brother- priests before the image of Our Lady as all renew their religious vows and allegience to uphold and defend the doctrines and traditions of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. This is coupled with an oath never to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in any other manner than that prescribed by Pope St. Pius V and the holy Council of Trent.
The Marian priests engage in a very active apostolate, which includes teaching, parish work, editing and publishing Catholic literature, and traveling in order to make the Mass and the sacraments available to Catholics who have no priest of their own. The priests are responsible for parishes and chapels in eleven states, as well as Canada and New Zealand.
“The general object proposed to those who enter our Congregation is to serve God and to acquire personal sanctity by the observance of the three simple vows and of these Constitutions and Rules” (Chapter VIII of the Holy Rule). This striving for personal holiness remains the object for which the Congregation was founded and for which all religious communities exist. It is by living and spreading the message of Fatima and the Catholic Faith in its entirety that the members of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen hope to fulfill their end and purpose: the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”
For more information about the spirituality and apostolate of the Marian priests, visit the CMRI website at www.cmri.org. For contact information, please see the Clergy/Staff page.