Legion of Mary

The Legion of Mary is an international association of lay members of the Roman Catholic Church founded by Frank Duff on 7 September 1921 in Dublin. Its members are engaged in spiritual works of mercy, such as visiting the sick and the lonely; distributing Catholic literature; evangelising; and fostering family prayer.

The basic unit of the Legion is the praesidium, normally based in a parish. Members of a praesidia meet once a week, when they are allocated a weekly apostolic task, usually undertaken in pairs. Members undergo a probationary period, after which they are called to make the Legionary Promise. Perhaps the best-known member of the Legion of Mary is the Venerable Edel Quinn (1907-1944), who served as Legion Envoy to East Africa in the 1930s and 1940s.