Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. (Madrid, Spain time, UTC+2)
Eucharist: 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the Neocatechumenal Way
Message from Pope Leo XIV
Madrid, May 27, 2026
Your Eminence:
I am forwarding to you the message sent by His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State on behalf of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV:
Cardinal José Cobo Cano
Archbishop of Madrid
The Holy Father warmly greets those participating in the Eucharistic celebration at the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Neocatechumenal Way in the Archdiocese of Madrid.
We must remember that the mission of evangelization is a fundamental task of the entire Church, which—with joy and humility, seeking the unity of all its members (cf. LG 7), and open to the action of the Holy Spirit—strives to bring the gift of salvation to all. May this conviction inspire us to take up this missionary work on behalf of God’s beloved children.
With these sentiments, Pope Leo XIV, while accompanying them in prayer and imploring the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, imparts the apostolic blessing, which he gladly extends to their families and other loved ones.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
I wholeheartedly join in the celebration of this important anniversary, and, while assuring you of my prayers, I take this opportunity to send you warm regards in Domino.
Piero Pioppo
Apostolic Nuncio
General admonition to the Eucharist of Kiko Arguello
Brothers and sisters, welcome. We thank His Eminence Cardinal Jose Cobo for presiding over this Mass. We also thank Cardinal Rouco, the bishops of Alcalá, Getafe, and Vitoria, and the emeritus bishops of Alcalá and El Callao for their presence. We are joined by 130 priests. The brothers from Madrid and the itinerants from various nations are here with us. Please stand, itinerants, so we can give you a round of applause.
We have gathered to celebrate a Eucharist of thanksgiving for the more than 60 years of the Neocatechumenal Way. History is important; we must remember how the Lord has acted throughout all these years. The Lord called me, and I went to live with the poor. Later, God allowed me to put art at the service of a new aesthetic. I gave up painting for the Lord, and He has rewarded me in ways I could never have imagined: I have been invited to paint the apse of the Almudena Cathedral. That is why I am happy that we are celebrating this Eucharist in the cathedral.
I am so happy that next Tuesday the diocesan phase of the canonization process for Carmen Hernández will conclude. The Lord brought Carmen and me together in the shantytowns of Palomeras Altas. I went there in November 1964, and shortly thereafter we began working together. But it was on August 28, 1965, following the government order to demolish the shantytown, that—in response to my request for help—Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo came to Palomeras, managed to halt the demolition of the shacks, and was able to witness the work the Holy Spirit was doing through us among the poor; it was this almost miraculous visit that was the sign that led Carmen to collaborate with me permanently. D. Casimiro invited us to go to the parishes, something we had never even considered. With that obedience, this Christian Initiation began, like a small seed, which has been a blessing for the lives of so many people and families, and which today is present in 138 nations. That is why Cardinal Cobo’s presence at this celebration is so important. In the Way, we do nothing without the Pope and without the bishops. If the Way has spread so remarkably, it is because of the support of all the Popes, who have onsidered it a gift of the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church.
The Neocatechumenal Way is a Christian initiation brought about by the Holy Spirit as one of the fruits of the Council. What was being drafted in writing at Vatican II, Carmen and I were carrying out in the barracks of Palomeras Altas. The Way has not been built on preconceived ideas but on a series of events in which God has been at work, and we have been able to bear witness that God is alive in his Church.
St. Paul VI already recognized us as a fruit of the Council. And he said: “What joy you give us! What the Early Church did before Baptism, you do afterward; the before or the after does not matter; what matters is that you look to the authenticity of Christian life.” The Statutes definitively approved by Benedict XVI define the Neocatechumenal Way as “one of the forms of diocesan implementation of Christian Initiation and ongoing education in the faith.” We are struck by the importance Pope Leo is giving to Christian Initiation. In his address last Friday to the Italian Episcopal Conference, he said: “It is not possible to fully understand Baptism except within the context of Christian Initiation… A Church that rejoices in wonder at young and adult catechumens must be capable of sustaining their perseverance beyond the initial impulse.” We are glad because the Way has been inspired by the Holy Spirit to help the Church.
We celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, which is a mystery of love and communion. I am struck that this celebration coincides with this feast because the Virgin has entrusted us with the task of forming Christian communities like the Holy Family of Nazareth. The Holy Family is an image of the Trinity. God is a family, a community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is born as a child, will only be able to fulfill his mission of saving the world as an adult. And to become an adult, he needs a family. The Virgin Mary has said: We must form Christian communities like the Holy Family; this means we must create communities where Christians can become adults, so they can fulfill their mission in a secularized, pagan world. By journeying through the three phases of humility, simplicity, and praise—the three stages of the Neocatechumenal itinerary—and living out baptism in stages, we come to form a community as the Body of Christ, where the other is CHRIST.
Christ has risen so that we may live a new life. Christ has not only risen and opened the way to heaven for us, but has also sent us his Spirit. The Spirit of Christ, descending into our hearts, bears witness to us that He is God, and bears witness to us of his love. It is He who has led us to love one another during these 60 years. Christ, who loves us dearly, knowing that the most precious gift one can have is a heart filled with this love, has died for us and has made a covenant on our behalf, giving us this Spirit of love, of holiness—this supernatural love that the Church has called charity. This love is the relationship within the Holy Trinity; it is the love between the Father and the Son. The mystery of the Trinity is that they are ONE. Three Persons, ONE. This is the great mystery to which the Lord calls us today: to love, to experience perfect unity in the Holy Spirit, to maintain communion, because the only thing that can satisfy our soul is to be totally one with the Holy Trinity.
We welcome the priests with a hymn to the Virgin Mary.
Kiko Argüello
Message from Cardinal Kevin Farrell
His Eminence Cardinal Jose Cobo Cano,
His Excellencies,
Dear Kiko, Fr. Mario, and María Ascensión,
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On the occasion of the solemn Eucharistic celebration that brings you together at the Cathedral of Our Lady of La Almudena in Madrid to give thanks to the Lord on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Neocatechumenal Way, I wish to extend to all of you my warmest greetings and my heartfelt closeness in prayer.
Spain has given the Church shining examples of Christian life and spiritual renewal through saints, martyrs, evangelization initiatives, schools of prayer, ecclesial movements, and spiritual currents. Among these fruits, we can certainly include the Neocatechumenal Way, born of the fruitful encounter between its two founders, Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández Barrera, and the poor in the most humble neighborhoods of Madrid. The desire to proclaim and live the Gospel among those whom Providence brought them to meet led to the birth of the first communities and the gradual formation of a journey of initiation into Christian life which, with the counsel and encouragement of the Church’s pastors, was transferred to parishes and then spread to every part of the world.
From those humble beginnings sixty years ago, many fruits have emerged: the drawing of many people to the faith and to the Church, countless conversions, the birth of Christian families, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and missionary activity in numerous countries around the world.
It can be said that from the “tree” of Christian initiation—rediscovered and put into practice by reviving the ancient ecclesial tradition of the catechumenate—many other “branches” have also sprung forth, which have done, and continue to do, much good for the Church: itinerant catechists, diocesan missionary seminaries, missionary families, new parishes founded in mission territories, the evangelizing activity of the “missio ad gentes,” the formation and accompaniment programs for adolescents after Confirmation and for young adults, with the practice of monthly lectio divina and annual summer pilgrimages.
These are numerous works that all of you, members of the Neocatechumenal Way, are called to safeguard and nurture for the good of the entire Church. New challenges await us in a world that has changed profoundly since the post-conciliar years. For this reason, I invite you to live your charism with renewed vigor and creativity, interpreting the spiritual needs of the men and women of today, bringing them the ever-relevant treasure of faith and ecclesial tradition, just as the founders of the Way did 60 years ago. Imitate their example of creativity, courage, and frankness, of filial obedience to the pastors of the Church, and of tireless zeal for the good and salvation of souls.
May the Virgin Mary, the inspirer of the Neocatechumenal Way, intercede for you as a Mother, sustaining you on the path of sanctification and in the spreading of the Gospel of her beloved Son to every creature.
I wish you all the best and assure you of my prayers and my blessing.
Kevin Card. Farrell
Prefect
Once the live broadcast from the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid has ended, a recording of the celebration will be available for on-demand viewing.
