Full speech of Leo XIV to the NCW

The entire speech of Pope Leo XIV is found here.

In the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you! 

Dear brothers and Sisters, 

Cari Fratelli e Sorelle, good morning and welcome! I am pleased to see so many of you here. I greet the members of the International Team of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello, María Ascensión Romero, and Father Mario Pezzi, as well as the Bishops and priests that accompany you. 

A special thought goes out to the families present here, an expression of their missionary zeal and of that desire which should always inspire the entire Church: to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world, so that all may come to know Christ. 

In fact, this desire has always animated and continues to nourish the life of the Neocatechumenal Way, its charism, and the works of evangelization and catechesis that represent a valuable contribution to the life of the Church. To everyone, especially those who have drifted away or whose faith has weakened, you offer the possibility of a spiritual journey through which to rediscover the meaning of Baptism, so that they may recognize the gift of grace received and, therefore, the call to be disciples of the Lord and His witnesses in the world. 

Inspired by this spirit, you have rekindled the fire of the Gospel where it seemed to be dying out and have accompanied many Christian individuals and communities, awakening them to the joy of faith, helping them to rediscover the beauty of knowing Jesus, and fostering their spiritual growth and their commitment to witness. 

In particular, besides the formators and catechists, I wish to express my gratitude to the families that, heeding the inner prompting of the Spirit, leave the securities of ordinary life and go on mission, even to distant and difficult territories, with the sole desire to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to God’s love. In this way, the itinerant teams composed of families, catechists, and priests participate in the evangelizing mission of the whole Church and, as Pope Francis affirmed, contribute to «awakening» the faith of «non-Christians who have never heard of Jesus Christ,» but also of so many baptized Christians who, even though they are Christians, «have forgotten [. . .] who Jesus Christ is” (Address to the Adherents of the Neocatechumenal Way, March 6, 2015).

To live the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way and carry out its mission also requires, on your part, inner vigilance and a wise critical capacity to discern some of the risks that always lurk in spiritual and ecclesial life. 

You propose to everyone a path of rediscovering Baptism, and this Sacrament, as we know, by uniting us to Christ, makes us living members of His Body, His one people, His one family. We must always remember that we are Church and that, if the Spirit grants each one a particular manifestation, this is given — as the Apostle Paul reminds us — «for the common good» (1 Corinthians 12:7) and therefore for the very mission of the Church. Charisms must always be at the service of the Kingdom of God and of the one Church of Christ, in which no gift of God is more important than another — except charity, which perfects and harmonizes them all — and no ministry should become a reason to feel superior to our brothers and sisters or to exclude those who think differently.

 Therefore, I also invite you, who have encountered the Lord and live His discipleship in the Neocatechumenal Way, to be witnesses of this unity. Your mission is particular, but not exclusive; your charism is specific, but it bears fruit in communion with the other gifts present in the life of the Church; the good you do is great, but its purpose is to allow people to know Christ, always respecting each person’s path of life and conscience. 

As custodians of this unity in the Spirit, I urge you to live your spirituality without ever separating yourselves from the rest of the ecclesial body, as a living part of the ordinary pastoral care of parishes and their diverse realities, in full communion with your brothers and sisters, and particularly with the priests and Bishops. Go forward with joy and humility, without closing yourselves off, as builders and witnesses of communion. 

The Church accompanies you, supports you, and thanks you for what you do. At the same time, she reminds everyone that «where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom» (2 Corinthians 3:17). Therefore, the proclamation of the Gospel, catechesis, and the various forms of pastoral action must always be free from coercion, rigidity, and moralizing, lest they give rise to feelings of guilt and fear instead of inner liberation. 

My dearest ones, I thank you for your commitment, for your joyful witness, for the service you perform in the Church and in the world. I encourage you to continue with enthusiasm and I bless you, while invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary to accompany and protect you. 

Thank you! 

Pope Leo XIV meets NCW Catechists

 You can find the following story in the Official Website of the NCW listed at the top .

Pope Leo XIV meets with 1,000 itinerant catechists from the Neocatechumenal Way

This morning, January 19, 2026, the Holy Father Leo XIV received more than 1,000 itinerant catechists in an audience in the Hall of Blessings, responsibles for the Neocatechumenal Way in 138 nations on five continents.

At the end of their convivence held at the “Servant of Yahweh” Center in Porto San Giorgio, under the guidance of the team responsible for the Way worldwide, Kiko Argüello, Father Mario Pezzi, and María Ascensión Romero met in Rome for their first encounter with the Holy Father Leo XIV.

During the convivence, as has been done every year since the Way began, participants shared the evangelization experience that the Way is carrying out in more than 6,200 parishes in 1,408 dioceses around the world to promote Christian initiation, a tool to help bishops and priests in different countries in their work of proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world.

Also present at the gathering and audience with the Holy Father were the 115 rectors of the Diocesan Missionary Seminaries that the Way has helped to open in many dioceses, together with another hundred formators.

In living together, it has been possible to see, through different experiences on different continents, the difficult situation in which the Church is called to carry out its mission today. In this global context, it has become clear that the Neocatechumenal Way is called to contribute to peace and harmony among people, bringing the hope of the Christian proclamation, the kerygma, and forming Christian communities capable of giving the signs of faith to this generation: love and unity.

The Pope’s arrival and departure were accompanied by loud and joyful applause and songs by Kiko Argüello, which the entire assembly sang along to enthusiastically.

Kiko presented the Holy Father with a copy of the icon of the Good Shepherd, painted by himself in 1982, and, since the Pope has a visit to Spain scheduled in the coming months, a publication on Madrid Cathedral, Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, where Kiko painted the mystery crown and the stained glass windows of the apse in 2004.

Pope Leo addressed those present with these words:

I would like to express my gratitude to the families who, responding to the inner prompting of the Spirit, leave behind the security of ordinary life and set out on mission, even to distant and difficult territories, with the sole desire to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to God’s love.

Itinerant teams made up of families, catechists, and priests participate in the evangelizing mission of the whole Church and… contribute to “awakening” the faith of non-Christians who have never heard of Jesus Christ.

Living the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way and carrying out the mission also requires, on your part, interior vigilance and a wise critical capacity, in order to discern certain risks that always threaten spiritual and ecclesial life.

Charisms are always placed at the service of the Kingdom of God and of the one Church of Christ, in which no gift of God is more important than any other.

The good you do is great, because its purpose is to enable people to know Christ.

Continue forward in joy and humility, without discouragement, as builders and witnesses of communion.

Dear friends, I thank you for your commitment, for your joyful witness, and for the service you render to the Church and to the world. I encourage you to continue with enthusiasm, and I bless you, invoking upon you the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that she may accompany and protect you. Thank you!

Vocations

The Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Guam produced 17 priests for Guam. That was the fruit of the Neocatecumenal Way. The Seminary would still be here today if Archbishop Byrnes (God rest his soul) had not removed the Deed of Restriction. The Deed of Restriction protected the Seminary from being sold in the bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese. With it gone, the Seminary was sold, and no more priests were produced for Guam. So, what happened to the many RMS priests who studied here? They were rejected by Archbishop Brynes and were told to find another diocese elsewhere. According to news report:

"The main reason for closing the seminary is that it is just not a sustainable model for the Archdiocese of Agana," he said, adding that the RMS model envisions a type and formation of priesthood that works in a place like Denver or Miami, for example, where there are millions of Catholics.

According to Jokers Wild (the highlight is mine):

The four Chamorro Seminarians met one on one with AB Byrnes and it was his decision not to ordain them under the Archdiocese of Agana because he felt the RMS was not the acceptable model of priest formation for Guam. Guam has lost these four Chamorro Seminarians to U.S. mainland Archdioceses during a time when Guam really needed younger priests to begin replacing some of the aging and sickly priests on Guam.

The Neocatechumenal Way in Guam currently has 2 Seminarians studying off-island for the priesthood, but they will be ordained in other dioceses. Guam is experiencing a shortage of priests, especially since we have now lost 2 priests: Father Antonio "Nino" Caminiti and Pale Mike Crisostomo. So, Guam is in dire need of priests. This is where we are today.