Marian Spirituality: The Experience of Legionaries in the Philippines

This paper discusses the experiences and challenges of the Legion of Mary (LOM) in the Philippines using descriptive qualitative research in the form of oral interview and text survey methods among the selected Legionaries. LOM is a Catholic lay apostolic association which promotes the devotion to Mother Mary and supports the Church. The Legion was previously documented as one of the biggest lay apostolic organization in the Philippines. It helps the Church in many of its apostolic works such as evangelization, catechism, and works of mercy for the spiritually and materially poor. However, propagation of the church’s work is weakened due to the decreasing number of members. There are proposals to strengthen the membership and pastoral works of the Legion of Mary. Hence, this research paper hopes to determine the experiences of the available or existing Legionaries residing in the different parts of the Philippines. The data showed positive experiences among the Legionaries while the challenges lie on the recruitment of members as well as on the demands of the apostolate. Due to these findings, it is highly recommended to have better pastoral care and devotion promotion involving the greater number of youth in the Church.

Keywords –Legionaries, Legion of Mary, Marian Spirituality, Philippines, Religious Education