The Christian Life Movement and One Denver Parish

PARISHES AND MOVEMENTS SERIES, PART 7

DENVER — The Church is reaching out to the new ecclesial movements on June. 3 with a Pentecost encounter in Rome.

Vincent Taliercio remembers a time when St. Elizabeth of Hungary parish wanted to reach out to their academic neighbors but just couldn’t. The location of the Denver parish on the secular Auraria Higher Education Campus, the home of Metropolitan State College, the University of Colorado at Denver and Denver Community College, put it in a prime position to witness to young people.

“St. Elizabeth’s had been hoping to reach out to our neighbors on campus for decades, but since parishioners are dispersed, we could never obtain the presence needed, though interest in outreach was high,” said Taliercio, a parishioner since 1978. There aren’t many residences in the area, and most parishioners come to St. Elizabeth’s from farther afield.

“The Franciscans, Capuchins, Vincentians and diocesan clergy who have successively ministered to the parish did not have a campus ministry or calling,” Taliercio said.

Then came the Fraternas, the consecrated laywomen of the Marian Community of Reconciliation. They are associated with the Christian Life Movement, one of the many lay associations gaining popularity in the Church in recent years.

Taliercio feels the Fraternas have helped fill a great need in the area of parish outreach, working at Auraria, the most populated college campus in the state. “God bless CLM for helping us realize that dream,” he said.

The Fraternas coordinate the Auraria Campus Catholics Club and conduct praise and worship sessions for students.

The Christian Life Movement began in Lima, Peru, in 1985 as the fruit of the apostolate of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, founded by Luis Fernando Figari. Christian Life communities have been spreading throughout Peru and neighboring countries in South America since the movement received the Holy See’s recognition as an International Association of Christian Faithful of Pontifical Right on March 23, 1994. There are now many communities and individual members in America, Europe, Asia and soon in Australia.

The Register is examining various new ecclesial movements in the Church and how they operate in parishes. Pope Benedict XVI is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in inviting members of the movements to an encounter in Rome on the eve of Pentecost, June 3.

The Christian Life Movement was invited to Denver 14 years ago by Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, then archbishop of Denver. Due to its small size at the time, they were not able to begin apostolates in Denver until 1998.

In June 2003 the Fraternas took up residence in the empty priory at St. Elizabeth with the blessing of the parish and Archbishop Charles Chaput. It was their first house in the United States.

Good Example

Father Chrysostom Frank, pastor of St. Elizabeth, where the liturgy is celebrated in both the Latin and Byzantine rites, said the relationship between parishioners and the consecrated women is “very healthy.”

“It took a while to develop [the affiliation] but now the parishioners regard them as part of St. Elizabeth’s,” he explains. “The Fraternas are actively involved in doing things in the parish and they have a good rapport with the parish community.”

There are no specific assignments at St. Elizabeth for the consecrated women. They hold outside jobs, but they have also taken on parish responsibilities. They serve as sacristans and greeters at Mass, head the RCIA program and take on seasonal projects such as the Christmas Basket program.

More than the concrete works they perform, Father Frank said their example of life is the greatest blessing.

“They exude happiness,” he said. “To look at young women committed to religious life and to see they are happy in doing that is the single greatest gift they give to the parish.”

The spiritual effects also are visible at St. Elizabeth.

Taliercio said, “Knowing the Fraternas are there invites me to join my prayer with theirs. It also encourages me to mirror their dedication and lightheartedness.”

Because of their willingness to become a part of the parish, Taliercio said members of St. Elizabeth admire the Fraternas and “embrace each and every one of them as family and co-ministers of the gospel of ‘people first,’ as in Jesus’ proclamation of the Sabbath being made for people.”

Rossana Goñi, superior of the consecrated laywomen in Denver, emphasizes that the Fraternas do not confine their activity to one parish. While admitting the unique relationship with the parish of St. Elizabeth, she said, “If any parish asks for help, we would be there. …We don’t just concentrate ourselves in one place.”

Therefore, the presence of the Christian Life Movement also serves to deepen the personal faith of many in the archdiocese. The four-fold mission of the movement is to evangelize by service to the youth, share solidarity with the poor and everyone sharing the suffering of Christ, the evangelization of the culture and apostolate with and in the family. The Fraternas sponsor prayer groups and organizations set up by Christian Life Movement — Marian groups for young men and women, Bethany groups for adult women, Emmaus groups for adult men and Family of Nazareth units for married couples of different ages.

Kathryn Johnson is a member of one of the Denver-area Marian groups. She believes the variety of programs offered by the Christian Life Movement community is an example of discovering new and creative ways to reach out, touch hearts and bring people to Christ. She views this approach to evangelization as “unique but effective.”

The movement “emphasizes coming to know Christ by coming to know yourself better, and thus finding him and your longing to know him already within yourself,” she said. “People seem to respond better to this method of evangelization than to some others because it is so non-authoritative. … They encourage finding Christ and coming to know him first, trusting that a desire to ‘follow the rules’ and a love for the Church will naturally then follow out of a growing desire for holiness to please God.”

Kristi Kloenne, a Denver-area member of Christian Life Movement for many years, joined as a young, single Catholic who wanted to live the faith more fully. She met her husband through the movement and now participates in an area Nazareth group.

“The focus of this group is the Catholic family,” she said. “There is prayer, discussions and activities to learn and understand more the role of a Catholic family in the world and also the roles of each member of a family — the mother, father and children. The group is encouraged to develop a friendship for support and encouragement.”

The archdiocese feels blessed to have the presence of the Christian Life Movement. “The Fraternas have been a profound witness to all of us in Denver,” said Father Jim Crisman, assistant director for priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Denver. “Dedicating their lives in service is not only inspiring but essential for the growth of the Church. Truly they are living out the New Evangelization in a prophetic way.”

He sees their example of actively living the faith with excitement and joy as a great witness.

Said Father Crisman, “The fruitfulness of their ministry is evident by the number of young women who consider following them in their way of life.”

Niki Kalpakgian is based in

Bloomington, Minnesota.

At a Glance

The Register is looking at various new ecclesial movements and how they operate in parishes.

The Christian Life Movement, the focus of this article, began in Lima, Peru, in 1985 as the fruit of the apostolate of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, founded by Luis Fernando Figari. It received the Holy See’s recognition as an International Association of Christian Faithful of Pontifical Right in 1994.

Mission: The four-fold mission of the movement is to evangelize by service to the youth, share solidarity with the poor and suffering, evangelize the culture and engage in family apostolates.

How it fits in: There are many communities and individual members in America, Europe, Asia and soon in Australia. The Fraternas, consecrated laywomen associated with the Christian Life Movement, sponsor prayer groups and organizations set up by movement.

On the Web: www.clmusa.org