GAINESVILLE — They went out in teams of two, just as Jesus sent out the apostles. With a "gentle, respectful, Marian approach," they evangelized the neighborhoods of Holy Trinity Parish in Gainesville.

The Legion of Mary members, or Legionaries, had two main goals, said Father Francis Peffley. They were "to reach out to non-Catholics and to invite inactive Catholics back to rediscover their Faith," he said. As pastor of one of the newest parishes in the Arlington Diocese, Holy Trinity Parish, Father Peffley and his parishioners hosted 25 or Legionaries last week. "They also let people know about the new parish," he said.

Most of the Legionaries were from Pennsylvania (the Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas), two came from Georgia, two from Florida, one from Connecticut and several from Northern Virginia. On this PPC (Peregrinatio Pro Christo -– Pilgrimage for Christ), they went to the remaining estimated 3,000 homes in the parish boundaries that had not been visited on weekly parish Legion outings. Holy Trinity Parish, established nearly a year ago, has 5,000 homes within its boundaries and three Legion groups; two adult and one junior (for those under 18).

One person the Legionaries contacted last week was a young woman wearing a Miraculous Medal. Her grandmother had given it to her when she was a child. She said she did not belong to a church and did not know the story of the Medal, which bears an image of the Blessed Mother. Just before encountering the Legionaries at her home, however, the woman happened to have purchased a Bible. She was amazed and pleased to discover that it was the Catholic version.

Sometimes people whom Legionaries visit greet them with tears of happiness. They may have wanted to come back to the Church, desired to become Catholic or would like to increase their faith. Each household the Legionaries visited received a packet. It contained a Miraculous Medal, a rosary, religious literature, a parish bulletin and an invitation from Father Peffley to join the parish.

"People are waiting for you," said Legionarie Eleanor Lang. "You just need to have the patience and time to go out." From NJ., Eleanor and her husband, Joe, are coordinating the PPC. She has been an active member since 1969. Joe has been an auxiliary (praying) member since the same year, and an active member since 1991, when he retired

When she first joined the Legion more than 30 years ago, Eleanor was raising their four children, so she began by visiting nursing homes. In 1975, she started going on PPCs. Her first was in West Virginia.

"This is what Jesus asked of His Apostles just before His Ascension" (Mt 28:19-20), said Eleanor. "Someone’s last wish is something you want to pay attention to. Catholics need to become active in their faith."

"A lot of good has happened" during this PPC, she said, such as having several people who want to sign up for Holy Trinity Parish’s RCIA program, which begins again in September. "We have a lot of prayer support," she said, citing two holy hours at the rectory last week, Legionaries praying for them and Eucharistic adoration.

Joe said the Legion is structured along the lines of the Roman Army: Its smallest unit is a praesidium, followed in size and scope by a curia, comitium, senatus and concilium.

"We plant a seed for the Blessed Mother and once we do that, she takes over and hopefully brings them to the Church," said Joe. "Our main thrust is to reach unchurched, lapsed Catholics."

Legionaries on a PPC begin at a residence by asking if there are any baptized Catholics in the household. Residents are then given a packet and Legionaries discuss any of their questions about the Church with them. Later Legionaries ask if the residents have any prayer intentions and offer to pray with them.

"We spread good will and kindness to everyone we meet, exhibit the image of a good Catholic and hope the Blessed Mother will do the rest," said Joe. "Our goal is the conversion of the whole world, nothing less."

Usually the traveling teams’ accommodations are the sponsoring parish’s hall and sleeping bags. But in the case of Holy Trinity Parish, parishioner’s opened up their homes. One Legionaire said he felt he was "treated like royalty" due to the generous hospitality of his hosts.

No buildings have yet been constructed at the Holy Trinity Parish site, so Masses are celebrated at the nearby Benedictine Monastery in Bristow and a local school. The parish membership has grown to 725 families, said Father Peffley.

The Legionaries location for meals and meetings was the hall of the monastery. In the large room was a statue of the Blessed Mother, with a few small vases of flowers and two lit candles at its base. Behind was a map of the parish, with streets and boundaries.

Legionaries began each day with morning prayer at the monastery, followed by Mass. Most went out for home visits three times a day, for about two hours each. After their morning outing, they returned to the monastery hall midday for lunch. It was followed by group praying of the rosary and a meeting in which each team gave a highlight which had occurred on a recent residential visit. Two more outings were available in the late afternoon and evening, with supper at the hall in between.

Lunch and dinner meals for the Legionaries were all supplied by volunteer parish committees. The information packets were brought in by the Legion council from Philadelphia.

During their local door-to-door visits, Legionaries find families with unbaptized babies, children not in CCD and couples who need their marriage blessed by the Church, according to Father Peffley. Local follow-up visits will be made by parish Legion members within the next three to six months. He pointed out that this was part of the "Holy Father’s call for a new evangelization."

Father Peffley has been involved in the Legion of Mary for 29 years, he said. His parents, Bill and Mary, met at a Legion meeting in the Philadelphia area. Father Peffley joined a Junior Praesidium at age 10 and his two sisters also joined the Legion as children and are still very active.

The Legion was founded in Dublin, Ireland, on September 7, 1921 by Frank Duff, whose cause for sainthood is being considered. Believed to be the largest Catholic lay organization in the Church, it has nearly 3 million active members worldwide and many more auxiliary (praying) members. The Legionaries’ dual purpose is its members’ spiritual development and advancing the reign of Christ through Our Lady.

Father Peffley said that every major Legion council tries to send a mission team out for a week every summer. For example, a team from the Arlington Diocese is going to N.J. next month. Most of the Legionaries who go on PPCs are retired, he said. Some are working people who spend their vacation this way, which is he described as "impressive and admirable."

During each two-hour visitation, Legionaries visit an average of 20-25 homes. One morning last week they were able to visit 35 townhomes. About fifty percent of the time they make contact with residents.

"One purpose of this is getting people to be more courageous in sharing their Faith," said Father Peffley.

The Legionaries arrived on Monday midday, and some members began going on residential visits that afternoon. They followed a pre-set schedule through Saturday afternoon, went out to dinner that evening and enjoyed the parish picnic on Sunday.

During the six days, they visited 3,907 homes and made 1,648 contacts. Of these numbers, Legionaries met 483 practicing Catholics 161 inactive Catholics, found 14 families with unbaptized children who wished to have them baptized, 21 possible converts who are interested in becoming Catholic and will have 172 follow-up cases. One the Legionaries biggest challenges was people who think Catholics worship the Blessed Virgin Mary. Part of their explanation includes "we don’t adore her, but we do respect and honor her," said Father Peffley. Sometimes Legionaries encounter someone who is not a possible convert to Catholicism, but leave them with more of an understanding of the Faith.

Father Pefflley said all of this "brings to mind Canon 529 and 529 in the Code of Canon Law which states that ‘Every priest is responsible for all souls that live within his parish boundaries, not just the Catholics, but all other faiths as well. He must do what he can to bring the fullness of the Catholic Faith to each person.’ The Legion of Mary evangelization project, the PPC, is one of the great ways to do that. A priest once told me that ‘A priest should do 100 men’s work a day, but use 100 people to do it.’ That has always been my philosophy in the Legion; to incorporate the laity in the Church’s work of evangelization" so that all these people may be reached in a reasonable time frame.

<head30>The Miraculous Medal

<body>The medal originated in the 1830 vision of St. Catherine Laboure, a Sisters of Charity novice in their Paris, France, convent. The Blessed Mother asked through St. Catherine that people wear it as a necklace. In 1832, the first medals were made available in Paris with the Church’s approval. The medal was soon known as "miraculous" because of the many miracles attributed through it.