The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW is a program in the Catholic Church.Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way , Title I, Art. 1. It is inspired by the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church where converts from paganism were prepared for baptism through a process of faith formation. This post-baptismal formation is intended to help deepen the faith for adults that have already been baptized, and provides basic instruction to those that are far from the Church.The term post-baptismal catechumenate is used in the §1231 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, related to the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself, “By its very nature infant Baptism requires a post-baptismal catechumenate.” This itinerary of formation adapts the rites of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) for those that have already been baptized, without repeating the sacrament of baptism.
The Neocatechumenate began in Madrid in 1964 by Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández.(primary source) It is implemented in small, parish-based communities of up to 50 people. In 2007 there were around 20,000 such communities throughout the world, with an estimated one million Catholics following the itinerary.Kiko Argüello meets with Benedict XVI (27 May 2007). The Neocatechumenal Way has always placed a strong emphasis on New Evangelization, administering over 100 missionary diocesan seminaries, as well as sending families in mission around the world, to be a Catholic presence in secularized places.
Early history In the early 1960s, Francisco "Kiko" Argüello moved to the shanty town of 'Palomeras Altas' in Vallecas, Madrid, and gathered a community of Romani people and marginalised poor.Anuth, B. S. (2006). Der Neokatechumenale Weg. Geschichte, Erscheinungsbild, Rechtscharakter. Echter, Würzburg. He was soon joined by Carmen Hernández, who linked the community to the theological and liturgical zeitgeist surrounding the Second Vatican Council, and won the support of the archbishop of Madrid , who had been a relator during sessions of the Council.Michael Hayes, New Religious Movements in the Catholic Church 12 (2006)(Carmen Hernández speech says Morcillo visited the slums (in Italian) June 28, 2002) (primary source).
Gradually, the community's approach was codified in a "catechetical synthesis" referred to as the "tripod," "Word of God-Liturgy-Community", with the stated aim of seeking to lead people to fraternal communion and mature faith.
The movement spread through the Archdiocese of Madrid and to other Spanish dioceses. In 1968, it began to spread beyond Spain when Argüello and Hernández arrived in Rome and settled in the Borghetto Latino.
Leadership and governance The community of Neocatechumens was led by the "International Responsible Team of the Way": Argüello, Hernández, and Fr. Mario Pezzi, a priest of the Diocese of Rome, until Hernández's death, in 2016. Under the terms of the 2007 statute, the three members of this leadership team will remain in place for life, after which an electoral college of senior neocatechumenal catechists will elect a new team which, with the approval of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will have a mandate to lead the Way for a period of seven years until new elections are held.Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way, Title VI, Art. 34-35. The Neocatechumenal Way announced on 13 February 2018 that María Ascensión Romero had been chosen to join the leadership team."They contribute by forming the first neocatechumenal communities of a parish, and are supposed to maintain regular contact with the Bishops of the diocese in which they work; the itinerant teams preserve a constant link with the responsibles of the Neocatechumenal Way, visiting periodically the communities they catechized and taking care of the development of the Neocatechumenal Way in the territory assigned to them, being fully faithful to the charism given to the initiators and obedient to the local Ordinary."L'Osservatore Romano, 11 December 1985 (Italian edition)
Nature and mission of the Neocatechumenal communities The Neocatechumenal Way as it has been approved by the Holy See is a "Post baptismal catechumenate at the service of the Bishops as a form of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing education in faith, in accordance with the indications of the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of the Church”.Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way, Title I, Art. 1, § 2. From the initial catechesis, it typically takes several years and passing through stages of faith formation in the local communities, until a member reaches the "renewal of the baptismal vows."
It is implemented in dioceses under the jurisdiction of the bishop and the guidance of the Responsible Team of the Way “according to the lines proposed by its initiators”.Congregation For the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis, 223: see c. 755 §1 CIC; c. 617 CCEOStatute of the Neocatechumenal Way, Title I, Art. 2, citing John Paul II, letter Ogniqualvolta, 30 August 1990, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS), nr. 82 (1990), page 1515.
Missionary activity Responding to secularization, the Neocatechumenal Way has implemented "families in mission" – families serving to establish the presence of the Catholic Church in countries where there is none (this is referred to as Implantatio Ecclesiae) or to strengthen the presence of Catholic communities in particularly difficult areas.Homily of Pope John Paul II recorded in the Italian edition of L'Osservatore Romano, 31 December 1988
On 12 January 2006, about 200 families met with Pope Benedict XVI, asking for a missionary mandate before beginning their mission to France, Belgium, Germany and China – bringing the number of families in mission to more than five-hundred.
In March 2008 the Way met with nine cardinals and 160 European bishops at the Domus Galilaeae International Center on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn said that during "the last 40 years Europe has said ‘no’ to its future three times: in 1968 when it rejected 'Humanae Vitae'; then, 20 years later, with the legalization of abortion; and today with homosexual marriages." He called the Neocatechumenal Way an "answer of the Holy Spirit to this situation." A joint declaration from the bishops said, "Here we have an important proposal, the proposal of the Neocatechumenal Way, which is to renew the life of the family."Neocatechumenal Way Saying "Yes" to Europe .
On 10 January 2009, Benedict XVI met with over 10,000 people for a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way in Rome. From this celebration several whole communities were sent on mission, along with itinerant catechists, mission families, and the Missio Ad Gentes (a newer form of mission that sends three to five families to a particular area at the request of the bishop).
In March 2019, the Neocatechumenal Way acquired the property of a 5173-square-meter part of the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem, in which they plan to build up a new international center named Domus Jerusalem.
World Youth Day Pilgrimages & Vocational Meetings Approximately every three to four years, the World Youth Day has been organized by the Roman Catholic Church, during which the Pope summons youths from all over the world to a chosen city. The Way has been an active supporter of these and individual areas organize pilgrimages to the city.
During the pilgrimage event, young members of the Neocatechumenal Way meet with Argüello for a "Vocational meeting" where 'vocational calls" are performed. In Sydney (2008), for example, approximately 1,500 men answered the call for the priesthood and 850 young women stood up to show their willingness to enter the consecrated life, and in Bonn (2005) around 1,500 young men and another 900 young women answered the call. These young men and women begin a process of discernment in their own dioceses and communities, which may lead to priesthood (most of the priestly vocations go to a "Redemptoris Mater" seminary) or consecrated life.Neocatechumenal Meeting Attracts 90,000 (Zenit News Agency).
The Neocatechumenal Way in the Eastern Rites and the Holy Land During the Neocatechumenal Way vocational meeting held near the Sea of Galilee following Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land in May 2009, Arguello described the Way's situation in the Holy Land. There are seven communities in the Latin Church, in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Cana. In March 2000, the Way opened its Domus Galilaeae formation center on the slopes of the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel. The facility houses a seminary and is used for studies and retreat, Christian seminars and conventions.
In February 2007, bishops of the Holy Land addressed a letter in which they ask to the Neocatechumenal Way "to take place in the heart of the parish in which you announce the Word of God, avoiding to form a separated group", to root believers "in the parishes and in the liturgical traditions in which they have lived for generations", and that all Eucharistic celebrations would be presided by the parish priest. The document stated that the liturgical rite has preserved the Christian faith through the history of their nations and it was "like an identity card, not just a way like another to pray" in the Church.
In June 2007, Melkite archbishop Elias Chacour proposed the establishment of a new "branch" of the Neocatechumenal Way for the Eastern Catholic Churches, Archbp. Chacour stated in his message that he searched for "someone or some community to preach the Good News to my parishioners" as an answer to proselytism of the sects, and that the Neocatechumenal Way is an answer. A spokesman for the Way reported the letter to ZENIT, saying that "We share the sense of urgency expressed by Archbishop Chacour to evangelize 'the living stones' in the land of the Lord."Melkite Leader Invites Neocatechumenal Way (Zenit).
The Redemptoris Mater Seminaries
The Way also operates several seminaries dubbed Redemptoris Mater seminaries which combines the priestly formation found in a seminary with the Christian formation received in a neocatechumenal community. Potential candidates often undergo a time of "Pre-Vocational Formation" before entering the seminary, which operates somewhat in the manner of a pre-med course, designed to prepare, nourish, and preserve their vocations. The intent was to establish a seminary that was both international, i.e. with vocations coming from different nations, and missionary, i.e. upon ordination, the priests are available to go wherever their ordinary sends them.(cfr. chapter 10 of Presbyterorum Ordinis ) In 1988, the first Redemptoris Mater Seminary was established in Rome by Ugo Cardinal Poletti.Michael Mullaney, Incardination and the universal dimension of the priestly ministry 216 n.259 (2002).
The Statutes and the Catechetical Directory