In a letter to De Paolis announcing him as papal delegate, the Pope said the archbishop was to be in charge of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ and all its members "for as long as it takes to carry out the path of renewal and lead it to the celebration of an extraordinary general chapter, whose main purpose will be to bring completion to the revision of the constitutions."

Pope Benedict wrote that the results of the recent visitation of the order's religious houses and most of its pastoral institutions "made clear" the urgent need for an "in-depth revision of the institute's charism." The Pope also noted the "sincere zeal and fervent religious life of a great number of the congregation's members." He said that the papal delegate was also "a concrete sign of my closeness" and desire to help sustain and guide them on their journey toward reform.

The papal appointment was one of a number of steps Pope Benedict has taken in the reform of the Legionaries of Christ after revelations that the order's founder, the late Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, had fathered children and sexually abused seminarians.

In his letter, the Pope said he chose De Paolis for such an important mission because of his skill and experience in juridical and ecclesial matters, his spirit of service and his keen sense of religious life. The 74-year-old archbishop is an expert in Church law who specializes in religious institutes and has served on the governing body of his religious order, the Scalabrinians, and held the positions of counsellor and procurator general for the order.

De Paolis met with the order's superiors July 21 to present them with the Vatican decree, which specified the scope and nature of his authority.

One of the 11 points outlined in the decree detailed "the broad authority" the papal delegate was granted over the entire institute, including the order's superiors on the general, provincial and local levels. The delegate is allowed to "even overrule the constitutions" if deemed necessary for the good of the order, it said.

The order's current leaders were to remain in their positions, it said, "unless it becomes necessary to provide otherwise." The three-page decree said the Legionaries' leadership was to co-operate with the delegate and keep him informed of the life of the institute.

"The paramount task of the papal delegate is to initiate, accompany and complete the revision of the constitutions," it said.

De Paolis will lead a commission in charge of revising the order's constitutions, and all members of the order are to take an active part in the reform, including "revising and rewriting their own plan of Gospel living, always in harmony with the teaching of the Church."

De Paolis also will co-ordinate the visitation of the Legionaries' Regnum Christi movement as well as name the visitor. According to the Legionaries' web site, the archbishop said the Vatican would release specific details about that visitation "at a future date."

The Vatican-led reform and renewal aim at revisiting the institute's charism and its constitutional norms in such a way that the constitutions will be freed "from elements that can cloud your charism," so that members can strengthen their relationship with Christ, he wrote.

He said the Vatican's intervention was necessary to save the order. Had the Church not intervened, certain "facts, events and people," he wrote, "would have threatened the very roots of the congregation."