50th Anniversary celebrations of Neocatechumenal Way in UK at Westminster Cathedral

Cardinal with presbyter and three Redemptorist Mater House seminarians

Westminster Cathedral was packed to the pillars last Saturday (26th October 2024) with 1600 members of the Neocatechumenal Way. They had travelled from all over the UK and as far away as Scotland to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of the coming of this ecclesial reality to Great Britain.

The two hour Mass was concelebrated by over 50 priests, including two bishops (Rt Rev Philip Moger and Rt Rev John Sherrington), a representative of the Papal Nuncio and Presided over by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who gave the homily and thanked the communities for their contribution to the Church.

The distinctive Spanish style guitar music accompaniment, so identified with the Neocatechumenal Way was complemented by an orchestra of violins and other instruments, played by 75 young people, cantors from the different communities. This stirring sound was punctuated by the sound of babies crying in the background. Part of the DNA of the Neocatechumenal Way is a strong openness to life and as usual, the aisles were filled with a forest of baby buggies.

The sense of excitement was palpable particularly when each of the communities, who were all sitting together in their diocesan groups, were called to stand up and identify themselves. The most moving moment, however, was perhaps when Fr Carmelo, the Italian priest, who had welcomed the first itinerant catechists to his mission in Clerkenwell recalled those early days in 1974. Now in his 80s, he was near to tears, at the sight of the full cathedral and seeing how far the Neocatechumenal Way had come since those first difficult years. "If I am still a Roman Catholic priest today," he said, " it is because of this Way."

The Neocatecheumenal Way originated in Spain during the 1960s, when a charismatic young artist called Kiko Arguello went to live with the poor in the slums of Madrid. With just a guitar and his Bible he discovered the power of the Word of God to transform the broken lives of those far from the Church and to create community. He received a prophetic word from the Virgin Mary telling him that the answer to the needs of the Church, in the face of increasing secularisation, was to preach Christ and to form Christian Communities "like the Holy Family of Nazareth" who would follow Christ and live the gospel "with humility, simplicity and praise." Working with Carmen Hernandes, a theologian (who died in 2016 and is now a Servant of God), Kiko developed a catechetical synthesis based on creating small ecclesial communities, sharing the word of God and celebrating the Eucharist together to form missionary disciples.

It soon became clear that this was part of a new move of Spirit in the Church in the post Vatican II years. The initiative began to spread out of the slums and was taken up by parishes looking for new means of helping people to understand the fullness of their baptismal call. Right from the beginning the Neocatechumenal Way was marked by its emphasis on the role of the family in evangelising those around them. This was further developed in 1986 when many families formally responded to Pope John Paul II's call to serve the New Evangelisation by leaving their jobs and old way of life to live as missionaries in other countries.

Lorenzo and Maurizia Lees, who are members of the team that lead the Neocatechumenal Way mission in the UK, are one such couple. They left their careers and arrived with their young children to live in south London on the North Peckham Estate. At the time the estate had a reputation for violence and only the week before their arrival someone had been murdered. The couple and their fellow catechists, however, built relationships with the locals and through this gradually a community was formed. Thirty seven years later Mauriza and Lorenzo still live on the estate. Their 10 children and 33 grandchildren are today not only still practising their Catholic faith but also are committed members of the Way themselves.

The radical nature of the Neocatechumenal Way can seem a little frightening and off putting to some but there is no doubting the commitment, enthusiasm and zeal for the gospel of its members. Its fruits speak for itself, particularly in vocations to the priestly and religious life. Currently 24 of the priests from the Westminster diocese have a Neocatechumenal background and a Redemptorist Mater formation house for the training of priests for the New Evangelisation, one of 120 seminaries run by the Neocatechumenal Way round the world, is now an integral part of Allen Hall seminary.