Photo by Julianna Leopold

“Sent to Serve: Profiles of religious life in Atlanta” is a regular Georgia Bulletin series sharing the work of the religious order priests and sisters serving in the archdiocese.

ATLANTA—Legionary of Christ priest Father Abraham Eo deepened his understanding of the vow of obedience when receiving his first assignment as a newly ordained deacon in 2023. Despite his desires to work with young adults, go to a new place, preferably international, and work anywhere but a school, he was assigned to chaplaincy at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta.

“I was sent to the United States to work with children in a school,” Father Eo said. “God really has blessed my obedience. I’m still growing, and it’s challenging me to learn what it means to be a father to all the kids.”

Legionaries of Christ priests, who also take vows of poverty and chastity, live and work in Atlanta and Cumming. Their assignments range from school chaplaincy at Pinecrest Academy in Cumming to parish assignments at St. Brendan the Navigator, also in Cumming, to apostolates of the Regnum Christi movement.

Eight priests live in each community. There is also a house for the North American territorial directorate near Cumming.

The Legionaries of Christ were founded in 1941 in Mexico City. After a canonical investigation in the early 2000s uncovered abuse by the order’s founder, the order underwent a process of renewal, and the Vatican reaffirmed the holy contributions made by its members.

Today, more than 1,300 Legionaries of Christ come from all seven continents and evangelize in 23 countries. The order has a school of theology and philosophy, a humanities center in the United States and seminaries in Rome and Brazil.

Father Scott Reilly, pastor of St. Brendan, said the archbishops and priests of the Archdiocese of Atlanta have always been welcoming and supportive of the order’s presence in the Atlanta area. He has also served at Pinecrest and St. Pius X High School. Two other Legionaries of Christ, Father Eric Nielsen and Father Jeremy Lambert, serve as parochial vicars at St. Brendan.

“We are here to share our charism. If the archdiocese didn’t appreciate the charism, we wouldn’t be here,” said Father Reilly. “It’s in our preaching and apostolates but we are not trying to pigeonhole everyone to join Regnum Christi.”

Father Scott Reilly, LC, pastor of St. Brendan the Navigator Church, shares a lesson with the children during a recent Mass at the Cumming parish. As a Legionary of Christ, he enjoys getting to know parishioners and watching their spiritual growth. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Regnum Christi is a Catholic movement within the Church that is comprised of Legionaries of Christ, consecrated men, consecrated women and lay members. The mission of the international movement is to build the kingdom of Christ by focusing on spiritual formation through retreats, marriage, youth and missions.

There is a cluster of Regnum Christi members in Cumming, but they are also throughout the Atlanta area. Most of the priests in the Atlanta community are assigned to Regnum Christi apostolates, like men’s and women’s groups. Father Reilly said the Regnum Christi members have received extensive formation which he encourages them to use in apostolates, or ministries at St. Brendan.

“They bring a lot of vitality to the parish. The core of Regnum Christi is to strive to form apostles and create a culture of Christianity,” he said. “We encourage them to get engaged in many apostolates in the parish. They are very generous.

Father Edward Hopkins lives in the Atlanta community house in Dunwoody. He spent most of his 35 years as a priest dedicated to vocations work but two years ago, Father Hopkins was assigned to the men’s Regnum Christi ministry. Shortly after that, he began working with married couples and families.

“We are trying to give marriage and family life a special priority. Building up the church and Christianizing the culture has to start at home,” Father Hopkins said. “Family life is more difficult and young married couples need a lot of support.”

Six times a year, Father Hopkins leads a weekend for engaged couples preparing for marriage that is open to the entire Archdiocese of Atlanta. He recently began leading retreats for married couples whether they’ve been married for a short or long time. Those couples are invited to come together monthly for further reflection.

Working with couples and families has enriched his priesthood, Father Hopkins said. Married couples and priests have more in common than he knew before, adding that couples make sacrifices and the essence of love between the two vocations is the same, but shown in different ways.

“I’m inspired by the couples I work with. It makes me want to be a priest for them and to live my priesthood to the fullest,” Father Hopkins said.

Father Eo said he also discovered new ways of God working through him at Holy Spirit Prep. He is chaplain to the lower and upper schools serving pre-kindergarten through high school. He celebrates daily Mass, leads retreats for second grade and older and hosts adoration twice a week in addition to book studies and events for parents and teachers.

Imitating Christ the teacher

The Legionaries of Christ spend a lot of time in education because it’s an expression of their charism to imitate Christ who called the apostles, gathered the disciples, formed them and sent them out to evangelize. Father Eo wants to follow Christ’s example and do the same for his students.

Father Abraham Eo, chaplain at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta, spends time with seventh- and eighth-grade students to help them plan their upcoming retreat. He celebrates daily Mass, leads retreats for students, and hosts adoration twice a week in addition to book studies and events for parents and teachers. Photo by Julianna Leopold

The students benefit from the Legionaries of Christ spirituality, but he also uses homilies to talk about St. Francis, St. Ignatius and other saints. He likes being present at sporting events and running with the cross country and track teams so he can be relatable to the students.

“I see the community as a gift. I need others,” Father Eo said. “My priesthood has found its meaning in serving others.”

At St. Brendan, Father Reilly said that celebrating Mass and the sacraments has brought great joy to him in his first year as pastor. He greets parishioners in the narthex following each of six Sunday Masses. He also enjoys getting to know parishioners, going to their houses for dinner, seeing their spiritual growth and watching them get involved in apostolates.

“It’s the art of working with people and keeping Jesus front and center of your heart,” he said.

The Cumming community lost their house in a 2025 fire, so the priests have been living in temporary quarters during the rebuilding process. Five priests live in a rental house and the other three live in a carriage house on the community property that did not burn. Still, they maintain community life by daily morning prayer and an hour of adoration. They attend Mass at the parish or school where they work and then put in a full day of their apostolate. The Atlanta and Cumming communities hold Monday as their community day where they can eat breakfast as a group, celebrate Mass, discuss a spiritual reading, do a fun activity and pray night prayer.

“As a human being, you need others in your life to be able to have relationship so you’re not lonely. You share your ups and downs, create memories, have fun, and share conversations,” said Father Reilly. “You work at learning to listen, to receive, and to express with love and kindness. It’s really a blessing and helps us to work with laypeople.”

More Info

Forty-three men are in formation at the order’s seminary in Connecticut, with 160 priests serving in the North American territory.

To learn more about the order and discernment, visit legionariesofchrist.org.