Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
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The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen is a traditional Catholic religious community. The primary mission of the Congregation is to promote the message of Our Lady of Fatima.
The Congregation was formed in 1967 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho by a group of laymen and women of the Blue Army led by Francis Schuckhardt. With the implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Schuckhardt and his group came to the conclusion that Pope Paul VI was not a valid pope and therefore sought services from priests who shared his theological position. In the early 1970s Schuckhardt received ordination as a priest and consecration as a bishop from Daniel Brown, an Old Catholic bishop who converted to Schuckhardt's brand of Roman Catholicism.
In 1984 a series of stories in the secular press accused Schuckardt of drug abuse and gross personal immorality, charges which shocked the Mount St. Michael community. In June 1984 three priests confronted him with the accusations. After delays in addressing the issue, Schuckardt fled with a small number of religious and lay people. In autumn of 1984 the priests sought out a bishop to ordain for the CMRI. On 23 April 1985 before Bp. Musey, the remaining three priests formally and publicly took the Abjuration of Error and Profession of Faith ad cautelam in case through their previous actions they had incurred any ecclesiastical censures. Bp. Musey then re-ordained them conditionally.
In 1986, the Congregation held its first General Chapter establishing a formal set of Rules and Constitutions. In the same year, the Rule was approved by Bishop Robert McKenna, O.P., whose episcopal lineage can be traced back to Archbishop Peter Martin Ngo-Dinh-Thuc, who would later be excommunicated for consecrating four bishops in Palmar de Troya, Spain without the Vatican's permission.
In 1989, the Reverend Mark Pivarunas was elected Superior General of the Congregation. Father Pivarunas was consecrated bishop in 1991 by Bishop Moises Carmona.
Bishop Pivarunas currently serves as Superior General and the Reverend Mother Mary Katrina as Mother General of the sisters. The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen serves 29 churches and chapels in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. They also operate a seminary in Omaha, Nebraska, while the Sisters' motherhouse is located in Spokane, Washington.
External link
- Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (http://cmri.org/) - Official website
- Theological Position Statement (http://www.cmri.org/theolog.htm/)