On the 6th November 1987 the Association of Christian Mothers “St. Monica” received canonical approval and was recognised as a public lay association by the Archdiocese of Madrid. Fr. Lorenzo Infante extended it to other Spanish dioceses hoping to receive formal recognition from the Spanish Bishops Conference which has not yet happened.
The statutes of the Association are not meant to put any further burden on mothers but to help them be faithful to their calling to be Christian wives and mothers. The worry mothers have about handing on the faith is the chief point of reference. In this task the Augustinian Recollects give them unconditional support. The faith formation of mothers consists basically in knowing in an ever better way the life of St. Monica so as to imitate her more faithfully. For this reason Fr. Lorenzo went around many places giving conferences; he wrote articles that he sent to the “Monicas” on a regular basis, and made it clear, in the Statutes, that there was an obligation to meet up once a year to celebrate a general assembly.
The Choirs of prayer
A group pf seven mpthers forms a “choir of prayer”: each one prayrs for her own children and those of the others on the day of the week that they choose; in this way prayer is continuous. They don’t have to meet to pray; it’s sufficient to do it on the day it’s their turn, and if possible before the Blessed Sacrament.
In his life time Fr. Lorenzo distributed more than 60,000 Monica prayers to a similar number of Christian Mothers. Their distibution and staying power, even considering how difficult it is to have exact data, have spread all over the world, reaching the strangest places, as if by symbiosis, and without any deliberate action of any religious dedicated to the task.
An almost determining factor for the setting up and expansion of the Association has been the dedication of certain mothers who took up the cause, especially those in the third order. In general the Assocation has taken roots through the forming of “Choirs of prayer”. In the first instance the “choirs” have been accepted and have spread in those ministries served by the Augustinian Recollects, where the enthusiasm of the mothers has been contagious. In this way the groups have developed their own character depending on places and pastoral practices.
Hungary and the Ukraine
From Hungary, the Association of Christian Mothers, cared for by the Jesuit Fr. Gabriel Rona, wrote to the Order that the Association in that country is more than ten years old. And in Hungary they continue to sow the seed of the “Monicas” which doesn’t stop growing and reaching mothers who join and pray. It has reached so many town that each year they have a National Gathering and some regional ones too. The mothers are always in touch with each other and one of them answers every letter that reaches them. A quarterly circular letter goes out to the mothers each year. And on the 27th of each month they meet in church for prayer, and Mass together, In the Ukrain the letter that’s distributed in Hungary is translated into ukrainian and there are mothers who pray in that language and form new groups.
There are more than 12,000 mothers
From Peru. Ana Maria de la Vega, the link peson for the Christian Mothers, tells us that the Association began there in November 1997, when the first eleven choirs were established. Today there are some 746 choirs, making a total of 5,222 mothers who at some point each day are praying to the Lord for the faith of their children.
We have details of the existence of 1,782 choirs and that means 12,474 associated mothers, divided up this way:
| Argentina | 1 choir | 7 associated mothers |
| Venezuela | 123 choirs | 861 associated mothers |
| Costa Rica | 37 choirs | 259 associated mothers |
| Spain | 238 choirs | 1.666 associated mothers |
| United States | 59 choirs | 413 associated mothers |
| Hungary | 170 choirs | 1.190 associated mothers |
| Italy | 18 choirs | 126 associated mothers |
| Mexico | 390 choirs | 2.730 associated mothers |
| Peru | 746 choirs | 5.222 associated mothers |