ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tom Monaghan's greatest passions in life are his Catholic faith and pizza.

In 1960 Monaghan, now 65, bought a foundering pizzeria called DomiNick's in Ypsilanti, Mich., and through tireless labor and remarkable business ingenuity built it into the Domino's Pizza empire.

This December will mark the fourth anniversary since he sold Domino's, but Monaghan is far from being retired: No longer concerned with delivering pizzas, he can concentrate his talents on delivering the Gospel message throughout the business world through the Legatus organization he founded 15 years ago.

According to Monaghan, it was during a trip to Rome to see Pope John Paul II in 1987 that the Holy Spirit inspired him to found Legatus. “It occurred to me that there should be an organization like the Young Presidents Organization, but for Catholics,” he said.

Named after the Latin word for “ambassador,” Legatus is an association of Catholic CEOs and presidents whose mission is “to study, live and spread the faith in our business, professional and personal lives.”

“It boils down to one thing — to help members to be better Catholics,” Monaghan said. “Members of Legatus are ambassadors of their faith. They are people who are role models.”

Legatus Executive Director Stephen Beal pointed out the longtime need for an organization like Legatus. “There were many ministries but no ministry for the Catholic CEO who has many responsibilities and temptations,” he said.

The Holy Father himself reminded Church leaders in 1999 that the rich and powerful have souls, too. “Love for the poor must be preferential, but not exclusive,” the Pope declared. “The leading sector of society have been neglected, and many people have thus been estranged from the Church.”

Legatus now has 45 chapters with more than 3,000 members in the United States and Toronto. Each chapter comprises 20 to 60 couples —Catholic business leaders and their spouses — and meets monthly to attend Mass, have dinner and hear a keynote speaker who talks on a topic of the faith or some aspect of business and morality.

Chapters also conduct retreats and conferences as well as “forums” that meet frequently to provide spiritual formation, education about the faith and moral support.

Monaghan said he has heard about many positive effects from chapters’ monthly gatherings. “There's a lot of great stories of [Legatus members] going to confession more often, saying the rosary every day and serving the Church in various ways as a result of the Legatus experience,” he said. “Every member's knowledge of the faith has increased and strengthened.”

Rita Illig Liebelt, 44, president of Illig Construction Co. in Los Angeles, has been a Legatus member for four years. Initially hesitant about joining “another group,” she attended a meeting of the Pasadena chapter and was immediately hooked.

“My husband and I thought, ‘This is different,’” she said. “It was terrific that people could come together, have a Mass together and learn to be better equipped to bring our faith and values into our everyday lives.”

Liebelt, who served as chapter president last year, said she has benefited greatly from Legatus’ faithbuilding activities. “The retreats have helped me to schedule a prayer life and stick to it,” she said. “We're responsible for a lot of people's lives and livelihoods.”

Liebelt added that the spiritual formation she has received from Legatus has helped her make critical business decisions. “What would Jesus be telling me to do? I try to keep the compassion and sensitivity that gets lost when making business decisions,” she said.

For Monaghan, sharing with employees is caring about them. “A lot of it boils down to sharing your goals and problems with your employees,” he said. “Workers appreciate it. Their job makes more sense to them.”

Chaplain's Perspective

Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer, president of Gonzaga University and national chaplain of Legatus, stressed the need for spiritually well-formed leaders in a growing era of corporate scandals. “That just shows the need for Legatus,” he said. “When you have leaders trying to be ambassadors of Christ, they can do so much good.”

“Legatus members will get together and get proactive,” he said. “They'll do things within a diocese, for a church or for Catholic charities. They're generous, spiritually aware individuals. They're naturally going to get together and do things.”

Martin Hogan, 34, president of U.S. Intermodal Corp. in Savannah, Ga., and his wife have been members for the past five years. Hogan was inspired by Monaghan's example. “Tom Monaghan is hip,” he said. “Here's this guy who's into pizza chains and baseball and still has time for the Lord.”

Hogan noted that Legatus has been instrumental in keeping him humble. “The Catholic Church has the tools. Some of us forget where the shed is. You become selfish. Pride takes over. You don't attribute it to faith, but yourself. Legatus helps you remember how you got there.”

Hogan also likes that Legatus focuses on family. “A lot of people don't get caught up in organizations because they take away from your wife and kids,” he observed. “This thing [Legatus] is open to your spouse. Both of you can join.”

Beal, too, emphasized the importance Legatus places on a Catholic CEO's spouse. According to Beal, husbands and wives are as much a part of Legatus as their spouses who are CEOs or presidents of companies.

Although Legatus as an organization does not take any official political or social stands, Father Spitzer believes members can use their influence positively to affect society and culture at large. “Not just on a Catholic level,” he said, “but also nationally, in faith, ethics, education. At the end of the day, they're people who genuinely love their Church.”

As money and power continue to corrupt many in the business world, Legatus members appear to be sincerely striving to be as wise as serpents but as innocent as doves.

“We've built our company on values and honesty,” Liebelt said. “You're tempted with competition that doesn't do that. But if we don't get the job, that's fine. We won't compromise, and the day we have to is the day we close our doors.”

Martin Mazloom writes from Monterey Park, California.