Tuesday, July 8, 2025 – The Neocatechumenal Way celebrated fifty years of Christian initiation in Canada during a large gathering of thanksgiving that took place on Tuesday, July 1, at Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.

Nearly 1,000 people belonging to Neocatechumenal communities across the country, from Vancouver to Rimouski, gathered at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral to pray the Office of Lauds. The country's newly appointed catechists, Stefano and Lucia, spoke during this morning prayer to remind everyone that God wanted to speak personally to each person during this celebration. They emphasized that this 50th anniversary celebration “is not only to recognize the benefits of the Way in general, but to highlight them in each person's personal history.”

The pilgrims then walked to the Oratory, striding through the streets of the city accompanied by the police, singing and playing instruments to convey a message of joy and unity to their fellow citizens. Expected at the Brother André Shrine at 2:00 p.m., they first attended a presentation on the history of the Way in Canada in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, the Archbishop of Montreal, Christian Lépine, the Archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, and several other priests and bishops, many of whom were trained in the three Redemptoris Mater seminaries in Canada.

This day of celebration culminated in a grand Eucharist, presided over by Archbishop Lacroix, during which three Neocatechumens spoke before the homily, in accordance with the statutes and practice of the Way, to bear witness to God's action in their lives through the Church, which was presented to them through the means and charism of the Neocatechumenal Way. In his homily, Archbishop Lacroix reminded us that we cannot do God's will on our own and that we need the community to learn to live in charity. "Brothers and sisters of the Neocatechumenal Way, you experience this in your communities. You are witnesses to this for the world [...] May the Lord complete in you what he has begun," he said.

This Catholic formation program, as officially defined in its statutes approved by the Holy See in 2008, began in the slums of Madrid in 1964. It was the meeting of two Spanish lay people, Kiko Arguello and the servant of God Carmen Hernandez, their experience of the Paschal mystery among the poor, and the impetus of the Second Vatican Council that gave birth to this ecclesial reality, which is now present in more than 120 countries.

In addition to the Redemptoris Mater international missionary seminaries in Vancouver, Toronto, and Quebec City, there are about 30 Neocatechumenal communities in a dozen dioceses in Canada, with more than a thousand brothers and sisters in faith who are journeying to rediscover their baptism.

For more details and information on the history, nature, and activities of the Neocatechumenal Way, please visit https://neocatechumenaleiter.org/fr/.

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