Our translation of the article published with the permission of In Terris
The Neocatechumenal Way Symphony Orchestra performed in Rome at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, before a theater filled with faithful and in the presence of Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. The concert was dedicated to the suffering of the innocent and the redemptive sacrifice of the Messiah.
by Miguel Cuartero Samperi
On the occasion of the Jubilee of Families, a special concert was held in Rome at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia, performed by the Neocatechumenal Way Symphony Orchestra. Present at the event were Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Mons. Rino Fisichella, President of the Dicastery for the New Evangelization and responsible for the Jubilee events, and Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, Bishop Emeritus of Trieste. Present were communities from Rome and Lazio, priests and seminarians from the Redemptoris Mater seminaries in Italy, and groups of pilgrims from Spain, Panama, and Brazil.
An orchestra at the service of the new evangelization
The Neocatechumenal Way Symphony Orchestra (OSCNC) was founded by Kiko Argüello in 2010 and is made up of 180 musicians of different nationalities who offer their professionalism in favor of the New Evangelization. The Orchestra was born with the aim of bringing the Gospel message closer through the beauty and harmony of music. This union of evangelization and art has always been promoted by the Way through its founder (just think of his pictorial work and the so-called “new aesthetics” displayed in the seminars and in the catecumenium and in the Domus Galilaeae, a center of spirituality located on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee). The conductor of the orchestra is Tomáš Hanus, from the Czech Republic, who has conducted various concerts in theaters around the world and who, since 2025/2026, has held the position of principal guest conductor of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. Hanus is the father of eight children and is also a member of the Neocatechumenal Way.
Since 2010, the orchestra has performed in theaters around the world. Starting from the Sala Nervi when it performed before Pope Benedict XVI, the OSCNC has been to Jerusalem, Paris, Madrid, New York, Boston, Krakow, Tokyo, and Budapest, to name a few of the most important destinations. The 2013 performance at Auschwitz was moving and emotional, held next to the concentration camp in memory of the victims of Nazism who lost their lives during World War II.
The suffering of the innocent and the martyrs of today
It is precisely to those who suffer, and especially to the suffering of the Virgin Mary beneath the cross, that Kiko Argüello, who together with Carmen Hernández initiated the Way, has chosen to dedicate the work he has composed, entitled “The Suffering of the Innocents.” The symphony is divided into five movements and represents “a great meditation on the mystery of Jesus’ death and on the profound pain of his mother.”
The last movement, Resurrexit, responds to the pain and lamentation of the first part, announcing the resurrection of Christ. The symphony “The Suffering of the Innocents” was followed by a second symphony entitled “The Messiah,” which represents a response to the scandal of suffering and which, according to Kiko, is dedicated to all the martyrs who today reproduce in the world the image of Christ, the lamb led to the slaughter who offers his life for the salvation of the world.
A “symphonic poem for piano, choir, and orchestra; a triptych on the passion and suffering of Christ, three episodes from the history of salvation set to music”: the sacrifice of Isaac, the ascent to Calvary, and the sacrifice of Christ. The work Messiah was performed for the first time in Trieste in 2023. In Rome, for the first time, the Orchestra has presented both works in a single evening.
Kiko: “Loneliness is becoming the main disease of the West.”
In his opening remarks, Kiko Argüello, accompanied by Ascensión Romero and Father Mario Pezzi, introduced the event and spoke about the importance of the family in today’s society, quoting the last three Popes. Kiko emphasized that the presence of so many large families, who are a sign and witness of the Gospel in a society that has renounced its Christian roots, is a fruit of the Way.
“On the occasion of the Jubilee of Families, I am happy to give thanks to God for so many large families, full of joy and life in the Neocatechumenal Way. They represent a light of hope in this society which, having renounced its Judeo-Christian roots, has closed itself to life, leading us to a demographic winter, as Pope Francis said. Today, the family is a tragic problem […]. The family is truly being destroyed throughout the world. Marriage is being destroyed by the approval of divorce, openness to life is being destroyed by abortion, and the elderly are being destroyed by euthanasia. Pope John Paul II said several times: “What was once a sin has now acquired the right of citizenship. But God’s love is greater than our sin. Adultery and divorce destroy families and the children who suffer the consequences; they increase the number of elderly people living alone; the future of humanity depends on the family, said Pope Leo XIV.”
It is true because in the Christian family, where children are born and raised, the Virgin Mary said to her son, “They have no wine.” She has also said this to us: that people need to live their faith in a community because they are alone. Loneliness is becoming the main disease of the West, and a new form of poverty is emerging. […] And so, seeing what is happening in Europe and throughout the world, we realize that it is an enormous grace that God has called the Neocatechumenal Way, that is, to make mutual love present in a community: “Love one another as I have loved you, in this love everyone will know that you are my disciples” (Jn 13). This is the mission of the Christian family, an eschatological mission: to show the world that love exists.”
The mission of the Christian family today: “to bring Christ to people.”
The Christian family, Kiko affirmed, has the mission of bringing Jesus Christ to the world. The witness of so many families open to life is a sign of Christ’s resurrection, which overcomes the barriers of selfishness and death. “On the solemnity of the Ascension, we can ask ourselves: ‘How can we open heaven to this generation that has abandoned God, to secularized people who no longer go to church? Today, when no one wants to have a family or children, a marriage open to life is a sign that announces the resurrection, whose power breaks down the barrier of selfishness that surrounds man. That is why a family with many children is surprising. They are a proclamation of faith, a proclamation of Eternal Life. God calls Christian families, in the image of the Family of Nazareth, to bring men to Jesus Christ.”
