VATICAN CITY — The Vatican delegate running the troubled Legion of Christ has urged its priests to elect a new leadership worthy of authority, after suffering for years from shame and suspicion following revelations that its founder was a pedophile.

He says the new leaders must infuse the religious order with a new spirit to finish a process of reform that he said had only just begun.

Cardinal Velasio De Paolis presided Thursday over a Mass opening a month-long meeting of Legion delegates to elect a new leadership and finalize new constitutions that must be submitted to Pope Francis for approval.

The meeting is the culmination of a three-year Vatican experiment to try to turn the congregation around after a Holy See investigation uncovered serious problems in the cult-like movement.