Legionaries
of Christ

We are a religious order of Pontifical Rite and part of the Regnum Christi spiritual family—priests and brothers forged in faith and driven by our mission of igniting the hearts of apostles & transforming culture with the Gospel.

A global Catholic religious order of 1,300 priests and brothers.

Christ-centered and rooted in brotherhood and prayer, Legionaries strive to live with Christ’s courage, love, and zeal. Our mission is clear: to evangelize and form apostles—Christian leaders at the service of the Church who transform the world by making Christ’s Kingdom present.

Legionaries live:

  • a deep formation
  • a dynamic community life
  • a demanding mission
Our MIssion

We invite people into the adventure of living for Christ and revitalizing the Christian heart of our country.

Each year we engage thousands of lives through evangelization with youth and young adults, ministry to married couples and families, education, missions, spiritual direction, and more. We want to form a new generation of Christian leaders who are going to joyfully bring Christ back into the heart of our society.

BEING A LEGIONARY MEANS BEING:

  • a man of God
  • a formator of apostles
  • a well-rounded man
  • a lively & magnanimous innovator
  • a passionate apostle of Christ
  • a proclaimer & witness of God’s merciful love
  • a creative evangelizer

(Legionaries of Christ Ratio Institutionis, #65)

Get to Know the Legionaries of Christ in Houston

Fr. Jason Smith, LC

  • Superior of community
  • RC Local College

Fr. John Bullock, LC

  • Chaplain Regnum Christi Men’s section
  • Author

Fr. Chad Everts, LC

  • ECYD Boys Section Director

Fr. Nathaniel Haslam, LC

  • Chaplain for Lumen Institute and Vatican Patrons of the Arts, Texas chapter
  • Chaplain for Young Catholic Professionals
  • Author

Fr. Fernando Herrera, LC

  • Assistant Chaplain RC Men and Women’s  sections
  • Hispanic ministry support at parishes

Fr. Jorge Lorenzo Martinez, LC

  • Pastor of St. Patrick Church

Fr. David Parker, Jr., LC

  • Local Director RC Young Men
  • Vocation Director

Fr. Eamonn Shelly, LC

  • Chaplain RC Women’s section
  • Assistant Chaplain RC Men’s section
Contact Us
LC Houston Support

Mass Offerings

Do you have a special intention? The Legionaries of Christ would be honored to remember them at their daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
 
You can email your Mass requests directly to our Houston LC community and donate via the following link. Write Mass intentions in the comment line.
 
Make a donation online or contact Fr. John Bullock, LC at jbullock@legionaries.org
 
For special novena masses, Gregorian series of masses, etc., you can send your requests through the Legion’s website: lcmassrequest.org

Are You Called to the Priesthood?

We each have a vocation. We are all called to change the world in some way by living our God-given identity and purpose. Finding your vocation involves a profound commitment to following God’s unique call for you, and it requires intentional effort and prayer to understand.

The process of discovering God’s will for our lives is known as vocational discernment.

Get in touch with us if you would like to discern what God is calling you to. We are here to accompany you.

Learn More

Fr. David Parker, Jr., LC

  • Local Director RC Young Men
  • Vocation Director
Contact Fr. David
Scroll to Top

Fr. Jason Smith, LC, was ordained a priest at St. Mary Major in Rome on December 23, 2006. Following his ordination, he dedicated six years to youth ministry in the New York Tri-State area. More recently, Fr. Jason served as the local director of Regnum Christi in New York, where he specialized in retreats, spiritual exercises, spiritual direction, marriage preparation, and marriage ministry. He also had the privilege of serving as parochial vicar at the historic Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan.

After four years as superior of the Legionary community in Michigan, Fr. Jason moved to Houston in the same role. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology and a Master’s in psychology. Fr. Jason has a variety of personal interests, including photography (with his work featured in several forums), reading poetry, art, running, watching baseball, and enjoying strong coffee. His younger brother, Fr. Aaron Smith, is also a Legionary of Christ priest.

 

Fr. John Bullock, LC, is a priest with the Legionaries of Christ, ordained in 2002.

He has lived and worked in California and Cincinnati and is currently living in Houston, Texas, his hometown. He has worked in youth work, college campus ministry, and as a chaplain for the Regnum Christi movement. He loves his faith, enjoys working with people, and loves riding his bike.

Fr. Chad Everts, LC, is originally from Wisconsin, where he grew up in a large family. At the age of 19, upon finishing his associate degree in forestry, he entered the seminary of the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, CT, and soon after went to Germany to begin his novitiate. He continued his studies in Spain and Italy. During his studies in Rome, he was sent to Paris for his apostolic internship, where he oversaw ECYD and Regnum Christi youth activities.

He was ordained a priest in Rome in November 2004 and returned to Paris to continue his mission with the youth. Each year, he would organize over 10 ECYD camps and several family pilgrimages (such as Rome, the Holy Land, and the Way of St. James).

After 24 years in Europe, he returned to the US and joined the Chicago community, where he dedicated most of his time to youth work, spiritual direction, and vocation work. He then spent two years in Edgerton, WI, where he continued to organize ECYD camps and events for families of the upper Midwest. In August of 2024, he joined the Houston community, where he is currently the boys ECYD section director.

Fr. Nathaniel Haslam, LC, was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was ordained at Christmas 2010 and moved to Texas the following summer. He is the National Business Ethics Advisor for the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a chaplain for Lumen Institute, and serves the local business community (www.lumeninstitute.org).

Fr. Fernando Herrera, LC, was born on June 26, 1966, in Manizales, Colombia. He is the second of five children. When he was three years old, his family moved to Mexico City, where he spent his childhood and youth.

In 1979, he joined ECYD, and in 1983, he joined Regnum Christi. Before entering the seminary, he graduated as a civil engineer from Anahuac University in Mexico. He has been a member of the Legion of Christ since 1990.

He completed his novitiate and humanities studies in Salamanca, Spain, and Novara, Italy, and earned degrees in philosophy and theology in Rome. He carried out his apostolic internship, assisting in various schools in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, and at Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid, Spain.

He was ordained a priest on November 25, 2004, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. From 2004 to 2009, he served as director of the Regnum Christi youth section in Puebla, Mexico. From 2009 to 2015, he returned to Italy to study and assist at the European University in Rome.

In 2015, he moved to Santiago, Chile, to serve as chaplain at Everest and Cumbres Schools and as chaplain to Regnum Christi youth groups. In November 2024, he arrived in Houston to assist with the Regnum Christi adult sections and to support parishes through his priestly ministry.

Fr. David Parker, Jr., LC was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1984. He entered the Legionaries of Christ on June 20, 2003, in Cheshire, Connecticut, and professed his first vows on August 28, 2005, in Monterrey, Mexico. During his years of formation, he earned an Associate’s Degree in Humanities and an ecclesiastical licentiate in Philosophy with an emphasis in Ethics. He professed his final vows on July 30, 2011, and later completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Theology.

On May 7, 2016, Fr. David was ordained to the diaconate alongside his father, Deacon David Parker, Sr., who currently serves in the Diocese of Green Bay. Later that year, on December 10, 2016, he was ordained to the priesthood during the Extraordinary Jubilee of the Year of Mercy.

From 2016 to 2019, Fr. David served in Hermosillo, Mexico. During his first year, he was Chaplain for Regnum Christi Young Men and for UNID University, and for the following two years, he was appointed Regnum Christi Young Men’s Director. In 2019, he was sent to Houston, Texas, where he served for three years as Vocation Director and Regnum Christi Young Men’s Chaplain. In 2022, he was named Regnum Christi Young Men’s Director, a role in which he currently serves.

Fr. Eamonn Shelly, LC, was born in Tipperary, Ireland, to a Catholic family of six children. He began his education at the local parochial primary school before moving on to the Irish Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy for High School.

In 1991, he entered the Novitiate of the Legionaries of Christ in Dublin, Ireland, and began his formative path in preparation for the priesthood. After two years of Novitiate in Ireland, his vocational studies took him to Salamanca, Spain, Rome, France, and Mexico City. He eventually returned to Italy, and on December 24th, 2002, he was ordained to the priesthood at the Legionary Seminary in Rome.

Since then, Fr. Eamonn has had various assignments, but in 2010, he arrived in Texas as Director of Formation of the Regnum Christi Highlands Boys School in Dallas, Texas, and in 2012, moved to Houston as chaplain to Regnum Christi Men’s and Women’s sections. In 2016, he became the Houston locality Regnum Christi Director and remained in this role until 2022. During that time, he earned a Master’s Degree in Theology on Church History from Holy Apostles College and Seminary, Cornwall, Connecticut.

Currently, he serves as Chaplain to the Women’s Section and Assistant Chaplain to the Men’s Section of the Regnum Christi Houston Locality. He also serves as the chaplain of St. John Paul II Catholic School in Houston and Regis Boys School in Houston.

Send a Message

Houston Legionaries of Christ

Name

Send a Message

Houston Young Adult Men's Section

Name