The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right. Its reason for being is the honour of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls, to spread the reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ in every sphere of human life, in living continuity with the Catholic tradition.
Faith, Liturgy, and Beauty
The Catholic Church has always recognised a deep harmony between faith, liturgy, life, and the power of beauty, which draws man’s senses towards the things above. The Institute regards the traditional Latin liturgy of 1962 as an integral and life-giving element of its spirituality: it is in this setting that priest and faithful encounter the mystery of God. Three features follow from it: great care for a solemn liturgy, complete fidelity to the doctrine of the Church and the Holy Father, and an awareness of the central role of grace, and especially of charity.
Three Patrons, One Spirit
The Institute’s spirituality draws on three co-patrons who form a living synthesis: Saint Benedict, symbol of the unity between faith, culture, liturgy, and life; Saint Thomas Aquinas, beacon of fidelity to the doctrine of the Church and to the papacy; and Saint Francis de Sales, the “gentleman priest” moved by an ever-growing love for those who suffer, in their material and spiritual distress.
The Foundational Motto
“Veritatem facientes in Caritate” (Eph 4:15) — to live the truth in charity — is the soul of the Institute. Saint Francis de Sales, at once one of the greatest theologians of his time and the “Doctor of Charity,” taught: “Cook the truth in charity until it tastes sweet.” For “one drop of honey attracts more bees than a barrel of vinegar”: truth offered with charitable gentleness reaches souls more surely than polemic. This demand for loving truth shapes the whole life and apostolate of the Institute’s members.
Mortification and Charity
In the Institute, charity does not abolish mortification: the two complete one another. Whoever would truly love God and neighbour must “continually mortify his own will.” Saint Francis de Sales, the great master of divine love, was rightly called “the most mortifying of saints”: he embodies this synthesis of love of God, apostolic gentleness, and personal austerity — a heritage the Institute seeks to perpetuate in its members.
In Continuity with Tradition
The Institute aspires to perfect continuity with the authentic tradition of the Church, as it has been handed down from generation to generation. Its founders, formed under Cardinal Giuseppe Siri in Genoa and, in Rome, by representatives of the “great Roman school,” understood that one must not recreate the Catholic tradition but transmit it. Its principle is that of the Apostle: “I pass on to you what I have myself received” (1 Cor 11:23). A living transmission, not a recreation: a patrimony received, preserved, and offered to each new generation.
Sacred Art, Music, and Architecture
As a religion of the Incarnation, Catholicism celebrates Christ’s sanctification of matter. Through her abundant tradition of music, art, and architecture, the Church sustains his redemptive incarnation throughout time: these treasures not only lift mind and heart to heaven, they are also the visible and tangible means by which we give God worthy worship. The founder, Monsignor Gilles Wach, compares the Mass to “a precious diamond” that needs a beautiful, dignified setting to reveal all its value and brilliance. To make visible the invisible mysteries of eternity: such has always been, and remains, the concern of the Institute.