The organisation originates from Peru and has a much stronger presence there than in Europe.

With around 20,000 male members who, whether priests or not, live celibate lives and take vows, the "Sodalicio" is one of the medium-sized specialised communities in the Catholic Church. It is larger than most classical religious communities but smaller and less widespread than Opus Dei or the Neocatechumenals.

The fact that the founder, Luis Fernando Figari, has now been formally expelled from the community he founded by a legal act of the Vatican Dicastery for Religious Orders has more symbolic value than practical consequences. This is because the community itself had already de facto expelled him in 2014 and declared him "persona non grata" in its institutions in 2016.

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The decree against Luis Fernando Figari came after Pope Francis last year ordered an investigation into the Sodalitium by the Vatican's top sex abuse experts to get to the bottom of the scandal. Previous commissions and investigations had failed to fully address the group's problems.

According to the decree by the Vatican's department for religious orders, which was posted on the website of the Peruvian bishops conference, Francis gave his explicit authorisation to expel Figari from the movement, even though canon law didn't precisely cover his alleged misconduct.

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