Meet the International Renewal Delegates Part 1: Kerrie Rivard & Kai Leal

Kerrie Rivard

After almost 2 years of prayer and discussion locally, and then at a national renewal convention, 10 delegates from the North American Territory are heading to Rome for next week’s International Renewal Convention to write a proposal on the renewed statutes of all lay members of Regnum Christi.

For Kerrie Rivard this is the culmination of a 3 year journey. “In June 2013, Rebecca Teti, Mike Williams, Brenner LeCompte and I were elected by the RC members in the territory to go to Rome at the request of Cardinal De Paolis, to meet with 34 other lay members form around the world and revise our statutes. At those meetings, we all felt strongly that the renewal of the lay branch wasn’t the work of 38 people, but of all of the 30, 000 Regnum Christi members worldwide.” During that initial meeting in Rome, Kerrie was elected to a 4 member general commission that was tasked with designing the renewal process for all members worldwide, and with collaborating with the general councils of the Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi and Consecrated Men to come up with a framework for collaboration, the RC territorial and local committees.

This process was lived out in local teams and sections around the world from October of 2014 to March of 2016. “It’s an incredible gift to see the work the Holy Spirit began 2013 become the reality we are living today. To see all lay members praying, discussing, and discerning the identity of the call they have received and how to put it in writing in the statutes. Regnum Christi members have come to know more deeply the vocation and charism they have received and how they feel called by God to live it as mature lay Catholics. That is renewal.”

Asked what three things she is taking to Rome and what 1 thing she will bring back, Kerrie said:

3 things I am bringing to Rome:

1. 3 years of prayer, my personal experience of renewal, and listening to our members
2. The results of an intensive course of Rosetta Stone Spanish to be able to understand and communicate better with fellow members from Hispanic countries and fluently read the official documents of the Movement which are all in Spanish.
3. An empty bag to bring goodies home for my family and RC team!

1 thing I will bring back:

1. Abandonment to what God wants. I come with my hands and heart full and pray to give all of that in the meetings in Rome. I want to receive what he shows us with detachment, empty hands and a heart ready to be filled. God is full of surprises and I’m sure he will send me home with one. I also plan to bring back a box of Baci chocolate.

Kai Leal

Kai Leal was another RC member was also present at the international meetings called by Cardinal DePaolis in 2013. Kai lives in Manila, the Philippines. She became a 1st degree RC member on Easter Sunday 2008 after attending her second Holy Week Mission.

From 2010-2012, she served as the president of Mission Youth Philippines and as a resource speaker for various RC events, particularly on the topics of basic organizational development and the New Evangelization. She is currently working as a Middle School Science teacher, homeroom adviser, and formation instructor at Everest Academy Manila. Kai majored in Chemistry at the Ateneo de Manila University, and also took graduate courses in philosophy at the same school. She is fluent in Tagalog, English, and Mandarin Chinese.

Kai brings the experience of the RC charism in the deeply Catholic and missionary culture of the Philippines, a capacity to prayerfully listen and synthesize the many opinions she hears and the desire to walk confidently in the plan God reveals.