Originally posted December 2018

Dear lay apostles and friends,

I write to you today with a happy and determined heart.

We have received from Bishop O’Reilly a Decree, below, which grants the Apostolate of the Returning King the canonical status of a Private Association of the Faithful with Juridical Personality.

My heart is happy because this Decree formalises our movement and recognises and commends our contribution to the Church. My heart is determined because our Rescue Mission must now begin anew and in earnest. We must ensure that contemporary Catholics are offered our faith in a way that promotes excitement, reverence and zeal.

The Apostolate of the Returning King, we believe, has come from the Lord, himself. Therefore, it is not a good thing but a great thing and we must all strive to become, over time, more convicted about the work entrusted to us.

We believe that we can present our Apostolate as a good place to begin a journey of re-entry to the Catholic Church. We believe it is a solid bridge leading back into the Sacramental life of the Church for those who may have fallen away. We believe our Apostolate is a good place to grow more spiritual and more personally connected to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist for those who faithfully remain in place. We believe that we have the graces needed to evangelise people who practice no faith at all.

We do not believe these things through mere optimism, although we are optimistic. We believe these things because we have all experienced the conversion and healing graces that flow from the writings. We have all tasted and seen the fruits ourselves. So let us commit ourselves again, refreshed by the special grace attached to this Decree.

Rejoice with us this Advent, dear friends. A long journey has concluded. A new journey begins.

We express our heartfelt and loving gratitude to all of you, who have supported and sustained us with your faithfulness. One has many friends in some days, but few in others. My own prayers of thanksgiving must surely ring in the hearts of all the saints in Heaven when I ask for your reward!

With love,

Anne, a lay apostle