International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019 91
Blackbird—A Memoir: The Story of a Woman Who Submitted to Marcial
Maciel, Became Free, and Found Happiness Again
By Elena Sada
Reviewed by J. Paul Lennon
Amazon Digital Services. (2018), ISBN:
978172013623 (paperback Kindle, and
audiobook versions). 181 pages. $17.89
(paperback, Amazon.com).
Elena Sada, with captivating prose, tells how she
finally exited the Regnum Christi (RC) Catholic
Lay Movement Consecrated Life—“3gf”1 in the
movement’s code—and takes back her life. She
mixes colorful past and present narrative, dream
sequences, and flashbacks to lend spice to her
harrowing but hopeful tale, embedding her
growth within real-life experiences with
significant others, family, and friends. She also
uses her daily experiences during her long
transition to look back on life in the RC. The
memoir is relatively short and divided into small
chapters, which makes for lively reading. Hard
to put down, the book could be read in one
sitting but your counselor might suggest you
“eat” it in small portions because some of the
“food” could taste toxic (especially to former
members).
Gripping the reader from the onset, Elena
describes her furtive “escape” from the Potomac,
Maryland house in the early morning hours. This
big step comes after many thoughts, feelings,
and attempts, and after many consultations with
superiors trying to persuade her she “had a
vocation” and had to stay.
Sensual feelings repressed under the draconian
regime of founder Fr. Marcial Maciel rise from
their slumber as the author makes her way back
into real life, which involves being human and
being a woman. The process was all about
choosing life, her real self, heretofore buried
under myriad rules, The Regnum Christi
Statutes, which had controlled her completely
1 3gf literally means Tercer Grado Femenino, or Third Level
(commitment) Female member of the Regnum Christi Catholic
Lay Movement.
for 20 years. At an idealistic 18, back in the cozy
cocoon of her wealthy home in Monterrey,
Mexico, Elena had unwittingly chosen self-
imposed depersonalization for a greater cause,
the Kingdom of Christ.
We learn what it’s like to live in, to leave, and to
get a life after the Regnum Christi. The author is
not the first to do so, but she is the first to tell it
like it is. Elena gives us a blow-by-blow
explanation of moving from cloister to career,
with detailed information about her transition.
So her story may help many of her sisters find
the courage to leave, or to reclaim their true
selves and learn how to concretely travel their
recovery journey.
Elena’s optimism, good humor, and hope make
the harrowing hayride bearable and at times
downright funny. Be prepared as she discover—
uncovers?—her sensuality, spiked with a wicked
sense of humor. As I read, I realized that
celibacy was just as hard for the RC women as it
was for this former LC [Legion of Christ] man
(author of Our Father who art in bed, a Naïve
and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of
Christ). And maybe even more so. Women are
by nature more in touch with their bodies—all
the time, it seems. Though Maciel’s masochism
took a toll on men, it could have damaged
women even more. A specific traumatic
experience she recounts is how she suffered
from not being allowed to keep a private journal.
She poignantly portrays his facet of the
emptying out of one’s real self to be replaced by
the cult-self in a late chapter.
Few former RC “consecrated women” have been
able to speak up and speak out about the
hardships endured.2 Elena shows great courage
in describing herself and her journey, warts and
2 A blog by former RC members, 49 weeks a year, first broke the
ice 6 years ago: http://49weeks.blogspot.com/
Blackbird—A Memoir: The Story of a Woman Who Submitted to Marcial
Maciel, Became Free, and Found Happiness Again
By Elena Sada
Reviewed by J. Paul Lennon
Amazon Digital Services. (2018), ISBN:
978172013623 (paperback Kindle, and
audiobook versions). 181 pages. $17.89
(paperback, Amazon.com).
Elena Sada, with captivating prose, tells how she
finally exited the Regnum Christi (RC) Catholic
Lay Movement Consecrated Life—“3gf”1 in the
movement’s code—and takes back her life. She
mixes colorful past and present narrative, dream
sequences, and flashbacks to lend spice to her
harrowing but hopeful tale, embedding her
growth within real-life experiences with
significant others, family, and friends. She also
uses her daily experiences during her long
transition to look back on life in the RC. The
memoir is relatively short and divided into small
chapters, which makes for lively reading. Hard
to put down, the book could be read in one
sitting but your counselor might suggest you
“eat” it in small portions because some of the
“food” could taste toxic (especially to former
members).
Gripping the reader from the onset, Elena
describes her furtive “escape” from the Potomac,
Maryland house in the early morning hours. This
big step comes after many thoughts, feelings,
and attempts, and after many consultations with
superiors trying to persuade her she “had a
vocation” and had to stay.
Sensual feelings repressed under the draconian
regime of founder Fr. Marcial Maciel rise from
their slumber as the author makes her way back
into real life, which involves being human and
being a woman. The process was all about
choosing life, her real self, heretofore buried
under myriad rules, The Regnum Christi
Statutes, which had controlled her completely
1 3gf literally means Tercer Grado Femenino, or Third Level
(commitment) Female member of the Regnum Christi Catholic
Lay Movement.
for 20 years. At an idealistic 18, back in the cozy
cocoon of her wealthy home in Monterrey,
Mexico, Elena had unwittingly chosen self-
imposed depersonalization for a greater cause,
the Kingdom of Christ.
We learn what it’s like to live in, to leave, and to
get a life after the Regnum Christi. The author is
not the first to do so, but she is the first to tell it
like it is. Elena gives us a blow-by-blow
explanation of moving from cloister to career,
with detailed information about her transition.
So her story may help many of her sisters find
the courage to leave, or to reclaim their true
selves and learn how to concretely travel their
recovery journey.
Elena’s optimism, good humor, and hope make
the harrowing hayride bearable and at times
downright funny. Be prepared as she discover—
uncovers?—her sensuality, spiked with a wicked
sense of humor. As I read, I realized that
celibacy was just as hard for the RC women as it
was for this former LC [Legion of Christ] man
(author of Our Father who art in bed, a Naïve
and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of
Christ). And maybe even more so. Women are
by nature more in touch with their bodies—all
the time, it seems. Though Maciel’s masochism
took a toll on men, it could have damaged
women even more. A specific traumatic
experience she recounts is how she suffered
from not being allowed to keep a private journal.
She poignantly portrays his facet of the
emptying out of one’s real self to be replaced by
the cult-self in a late chapter.
Few former RC “consecrated women” have been
able to speak up and speak out about the
hardships endured.2 Elena shows great courage
in describing herself and her journey, warts and
2 A blog by former RC members, 49 weeks a year, first broke the
ice 6 years ago: http://49weeks.blogspot.com/
