Pope Leo XIV has praised the missionary work of the Neocatechumenal Way as the movement marked its 60th anniversary with a Mass in Madrid’s Almudena Cathedral.
In a message sent for the celebration on May 30, 2026, the Pope said evangelisation was “a fundamental task of the whole Church”. The message, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, placed the anniversary within the wider mission of the Church and recognised the contribution of the Neocatechumenal Way to that mission.
The Mass in Madrid brought together Cardinal Antonio María Rouco, several bishops and more than 100 priests. It recalled the beginnings of the Neocatechumenal Way in the Spanish capital, where the movement first emerged among the poor before spreading across the world.
The Neocatechumenal Way traces its origins to 1964, when Kiko Argüello went to live in the shantytown of Palomeras Altas in Madrid. Inspired by St Charles de Foucauld, he lived among people on the margins, praying, reading scripture, playing guitar and proclaiming the kerygma.
Carmen Hernández later joined him. The early community received support from Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo, who defended it in 1965 when the shantytown faced demolition. The first parish catecheses of the Neocatechumenal Way began the following year, in 1966.
Six decades later, the movement is present in 138 countries across all five continents. It has more than 20,350 communities in more than 6,250 parishes and about 1,400 dioceses. Its life is centred on Word, Liturgy and Community.
Cardinal José Cobo Cano, Archbishop of Madrid, thanked the Neocatechumenal Way for 60 years of evangelisation. He encouraged its members to remain in communion with diocesan life and to respect personal freedom in their missionary work.
Cardinal Cobo also referred to the cause for the canonisation of Carmen Hernández. The diocesan phase of her beatification cause was due to close on June 2, 2026, at Madrid’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, also highlighted the fruits of the movement. He pointed to returns to faith, conversions, Christian families, vocations, missionary work, itinerant catechists, missionary seminaries, missionary families, missio ad gentes and formation for young people.
The anniversary presented the Neocatechumenal Way as a path of Christian initiation with a strong missionary identity.
From its beginnings in one of Madrid’s poorest neighbourhoods to its presence across five continents, the Neocatechumenal Way was celebrated as a missionary reality shaped by scripture, liturgy and community.
