Porto San Giorgio, 01/19/2019 

On the morning of Saturday, January 19, Kiko Argüello has been named honorary citizen of the town of Porto San Giorgio, in the Le Marche region (Italy).

The mayor of the town and other members of the City Council have awarded the distinction to Argüello at the International Neocatechumenal Center, where he is gathered with more than 1,200 itinerant catechists, as well as priests and families in a worldwide convivence of evangelization.

During the ceremony, the mayor, Giuseppe Catalini, highlighted the initiator and responsible’s contribution to the city. In addition, he explained that on the afternoon of  that Friday, the City Council unanimously voted to grant him said distinction.

On the other hand, he stressed that Argüello has made Porto San Giorgio a “noble” city that has “given worldwide luster.”

The mayor of the city recalled the visit of St. John Paul II on December 30, 1988 in which he went to the town to celebrate a Eucharist with the Way and sent 72 families on mission throughout the world.

In turn, Argüello was grateful for the gesture, affirming that “I am a sinner.” “I must do what the Lord commands me to do. Accept honors, accept persecutions, sufferings and beautiful moments like this. Everything is done by the Lord, who carries us through our life. In service to his Church, in his humble glory”.

Porto San Giorgio is a few kilometers from Loreto, where the famous Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto. In it, according to tradition, the Virgin’s house is preserved in Nazareth.