To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the presence of the Neocatechumenal Way in Rome, an international meeting with Pope Francis took place on May 5th. The encounter at Tor Vergata, in the area that hosted World Youth Day in 2000, was attended by 150,000 participants from 134 nations. During the meeting Pope Francis commissioned 36 new missio ad gentes: groups that, at the request of many bishops, will bring the Gospel into secularized areas or with a small Christian presence.
The Neocatechumenal Way was born in 1964 in the shacks of Palomeras Altas, in Madrid, Spain, through the efforts of Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernandez. Amid the poor and the marginalized, who welcome the proclamation of Christ who died and rose again, the Holy Spirit gave rise to a process of Christian initiation modelled after the catechumenate of the primitive Church, a journey founded on the Word of God-Liturgy-Community, which leads to fraternal communion and a mature faith.
