Cappella dei Legionari di Cristo is a mid 20th century convent chapel at Via Aurelia 677 in the Aurelio suburban district.
History[]
The chapel belongs to the Generalate (headquarters) of the Legionaries of Christ, founded at Cuernavaca in Mexico in 1941 by the (now posthumously disgraced) Fr Marcial Maciel.
The Generalate was built in 1950.
The Legionaries survived a serious scandal when its founder was exposed as a predatory sexual abuser, and new Constitutions were approved in 2014.
They now have a substantial presence in Rome, with the Diocese counting 123 members present in 2018. See also the parish church of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe e San Filippo Martire in Via Aurelia next door, and Cappella del "Highlands Institute", both under their charge.
The Legionaries' Seminary College was established in 1991, and had its first premises in Castel di Guido. A purpose-built campus just off the Via Aurelia was completed in 2005. See Cappella del Pontificio Collegio Internazionale Maria Mater Ecclesiae.
However, a prestigious school run by the Legionaries was forced to close in 2016 owing to mismanagement and financial irregularities. See Cappella del "Irish Institute".
Appearance[]
The Generalate is a four-storey block in yellow brick with the long side facing the street, and two short end wings running back.
The chapel is invisible from the street, but is a separate building with an entrance opposite the main entrance of the convent. You go straight ahead on entering. It is a small flat-roofed structure with parapet walls, on a modified U-shaped plan where the side walls are at an acute angle meeting at a small curved apse.