120,000 from 109 Countries Celebrated the Jubilee of the Neocatechumenal Way at Tor Vergata

The day after the conclusion of the Jubilee of Youth, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope's Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, presided over a mass meeting with young people and couples of the Neocatechumenal Way in Tor Vergata. 

The Neocatechumenal Way, founded in 1964, has more than 1 million members worldwide, spread across approximately 25,000 communities in 135 countries as of a July 2024 statement, making it the largest estimate.
The young people and couples of the Neocatechumenal Way were summoned by the leader of the movement and his international team for a time of "vocational calls."

About The Way – whose itinerary is lived in the parishes, in small communities made up of people from different age and social groups – gradually leads the faithful to intimacy with Jesus Christ and transforms them into active members in the Church and credible witnesses of the Good News. It is an instrument for the Christian initiation of adults preparing to receive baptism.

The Jubilee of the Neocatechumenal Way, celebrated at Tor Vergata, on the afternoon of Monday, August 4, brought together more than 120,000 young people from 109 countries, including Iraq, India, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spain, Italy, and France. All of them were accompanied by priests, catechists, and some 20 bishops.

Following the opening prayer led by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, His Holiness's Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, a hymn taken from Isaiah was sung: "I come to gather all the nations ." Kiko Argüello, one of the movement's founders, addressed those present and explained that the main objective of this gathering was "to reap the fruits of the Jubilee of Hope." Hope, he said, is one of the theological virtues. Therefore, he prayed that "the faith of Baptism, revived by the Neocatechumenal Way, be founded on solid rock" for each of the participants.

At a time when “Europe is going through a vocational crisis,” Kiko added, it is crucial to invoke heaven through the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that young people may respond to God's call with a “definitive yes.”
“Many young people hear Christ's call, but end up saying no, out of fear,” he noted. Therefore, during the Jubilee of the Way, a special moment is reserved for those who “feel a call to the priesthood or consecrated life.” They are invited to give a definitive response “without any fear” and “with complete freedom, as Christ asks.”

Cardinal Reina focused his address on the "mystery of vocation." Following the Pope's lead, he exhorted young people to "aspire to the greatest, to holiness."
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," he said, emphasizing that the Church is going through a "difficult time in which God is marginalized." Therefore, he insisted on the need to "listen to God's call to receive the gift of a priestly or religious vocation."
The celebration also coincided with the feast of the Holy Curé of Ars, which, he noted, is an invitation to accept God's call, "that mystery that requires conversion, recollection, and patience."

The Neocatechumenal Way has a strong missionary vocation: it sends families and communities to evangelize throughout the world, especially in areas where faith is weakened, known as "existential peripheries." This meeting was an expression of the faith journey of its members—young people and couples—who recognize their call to be evangelizers.
"Faith is an immense gift," Kiko Argüello insisted. "And God wants to give it to you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought you here."

In a society where "the family is under attack," he also recalled that "the sacrament of marriage is a very serious matter," emphasizing that the essential thing "is to give one's life to Christ."

At the end of the meeting, Cardinal Reina, along with the bishops present, imparted his blessing to the many young people who spontaneously felt an initial calling during this Jubilee of the Camino. A movement born in Madrid in the early 1960s thanks to the commitment of Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández, it has spread its evangelizing mission throughout the world.

Source: Vatican News Es
https://neocatechumenaleiter.org/en/120000-youth-from-the-neocatechumenal-way-in-rome-for-the-jubilee-with-the-pope-and-a-vocational-meeting/