Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
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The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (Latin: Institutum Christi Regis Summi Sacerdotis) is a society of priests in the Catholic Church that celebrates the liturgy in Latin in accordance with its constitutions and founding documents based on permissions granted by Rome. The Institute also preserves and patronizes traditional Latin Rite liturgical art and music and has undertaken the restoration and beautification of several churches. The Institute is a Society of Apostolic Life, whose rule of life is based generally on that of the secular canons. The Institute has its own choir dress adopted in 2006 and solemnly given to members by the Cardinal Archbishop of Florence. The Institute of Christ the King has as its stated aim the defense and propagation of the reign of Christ in all areas of human life, both private and social.
The Institute, founded in 1990, is based in Gricigliano, Italy, where the international seminary is located. The Institute's foundation was originally canonically erected in Gabon, where the Institute still maintains several missions, notably in the capital Libreville. Its canonical status is of 'diocesan rite' coming under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Florence. Deacons and priests are incardinated into the Institute, whose Superior General is the major superior with the right to call to orders. Its founder is the Very Reverend Monsignor Gilles Wach, STD, Superior General; co-founder is Father Philippe Mora, STD, Rector of the Seminary. Wach and Mora received their priestly formation under the late Cardinal Siri (d. 1989) of Genoa. The Institute currently has more than seventy seminarians in formation, and numbers over fifty priests.
The charism of the Institute is based on the example of its three patron saints: Saint Benedict, with his love for the solemn celebration of the liturgy, his emphasis on work and prayer, and his role in laying the groundwork for an integral Christian civilization in medieval Europe; Saint Thomas Aquinas, with his emphasis on the harmony between faith and reason; and, Saint Francis de Sales, with the importance he attached to teaching the Catholic faith with patience and charity, and to encouraging all Catholics to seek a life of holiness through the ordinary means of the Church, such as devout attendance at Mass and frequent confession.
The Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest are a women's community (founded in 2004) associated with the Institute, and are also based in Gricigliano. The sisters are non-cloistered contemplatives, and their way of life is based on the Benedictine tradition. The community celebrates Mass and the Divine Office using the Traditional Latin Rite. When the number of sisters has increased sufficiently it is expected that convents will be located near the Institute's churches, where the sisters will perform apostolic work such as teaching. The sisters now number nearly twenty.
In the United States, the Institute is located in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, New Jersey, and California, with national headquarters in Chicago. Its oldest United States apostolate is St. Mary Oratory in Rockford, Illinois; Fr. Brian A. T. Bovee is the rector of the oratory. The Institute's 2nd most recent foundation in the United States is in Kansas City, Missouri, where in 2005 Bishop Robert Finn has established an oratory, a public church where the Mass and other rites may be administered, for the Institute at an historic church otherwise in danger of being closed. Its most recent foundation however, is in Santa Clara California, at Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Superior for the United States is Monsignor R. Michael Schmitz, who is also Vicar General of the Institute. The Institute is active in the dioceses of Liverpool, Shrewsbury and Middlesbrough in Great Britain. Since St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2006, the Institute has had a presence in the diocese of Limerick in Ireland. In addition to its oratories in the United States and missions in Africa, the Institute also has apostolates in France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Institute is especially active in the domain of education, running schools in France (Montpellier, Liile and Versailles), Belgium (Brussels International Catholic School), and Africa.
In 2007 the Institute had four new priests. Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis ordained two United States priests in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Missouri on the feast day of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 15, 2007. Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, the Primate of Spain, ordained two French priests at Gricigliano, the Institute's seminary in Italy on July 5, 2007.
