Irene Alemany was born in Spain and entered the consecrated life 26 years ago. She said that consecrated life is like living “in a family - we truly are sisters.” However, she continued, the members of the community are prudently asked not to share whatever family problems they might have with the rest of the sisters, but rather “to seek out an appropriate person who can help.”
Alemany also directs the Madox Academy, a K-12 school. She remarked that the Regnum Christi homes follow the same statutes as the Legion of Christ, which are similar to those of other religious congregations. “We live in discipline” and with a special emphasis on education,” she said.
Asked if she monitors the correspondence of the other sisters, Alemany responded, “In many congregations that is the custom. The reason is to try to help them if there is bad news. Perhaps this is more and more obsolete but it is a norm that we have followed. And yes we have reviewed letters.”
Regarding the use of the internet, she said, “It is important to understand that you just look at things from the point of view of rules they can be easily misunderstood. We have access to internet but it depends on the work of each person. There are filters that exist to protect consecrated life; we don’t just look at any magazine out there, only ones with cultural content, that really nourish the culture.
“We live freely in order to cultivate our interior life and our purity in our commitment to Jesus Christ. We remove everything that doesn’t help us, and for this reason we use certain filters, and we also have access to other media and to the news.”
The main objective of the consecrated sisters is “the formation of women,” and for this reason the members receive formation in several areas. Alemany explained that while most of the Regnum Chrsiti women have bachelors or graduate degrees, of the 21 women who live in her community, only five or six have bachelor’s degrees. She said that the rest are studying at the Legionary formation centers, where the professors are usually from the Legion, with occasional visiting professors.