About 120,000 young people from the Neocatechumenal Way participated in a gathering on Aug. 4, the feast day of the Curé of Ars, to consider what their vocation in life might be.
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In attendance were Kiko Argüello, one of the apostolate’s initiators, and two other members of the organization’s international team: Maria Ascensión and Father Mario Pezzi.
The meeting, held at Tor Vergata — the same place where Pope Leo XIV presided over the vigil and celebrated the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth with more than a million souls Aug. 3 — was presided over by Italian Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pope’s vicar for the Diocese of Rome. Also present were five other cardinals and some 30 bishops.
According to the Neocatechumenal Way website, the meeting took place in an atmosphere of celebration and communion, with young people from some 50 countries in Europe, 30 countries in the Americas, 11 countries in Africa, and 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.
After Reina’s greeting, accompanied by 100 priests from Redemptoris Mater seminaries of the Neocatechumenal Way, an icon of the Virgin Mary was set up on the large stage along with a large crucifix to be the visual focal point of the gathering.
A photo of Carmen Hernández, the Spanish servant of God who was also an initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way, was also placed on the stage. The apostolate is now present in 138 countries around the world.
Ascensión then spoke about St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, before moving on to the day’s readings from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Mt 9:35-10:1) in which Jesus says “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then Argüello addressed the young people, asking: “What is God’s deepest desire? To give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, of his life, of his happiness. But to give you this gift, God needs your freedom, because as St. Augustine reminds us: ‘God, who created you without you, will not save you without you.’”
Looking at the crucifix, Argüello then said: “I invite you to look at this cross: This is the image of freedom. The cross is the image of freedom. Here is a man who has given himself up for you, who will set you free to give yourself to others and stop offering yourselves only to yourselves. How can you receive the Holy Spirit today? If you accept that your self be crucified with Christ.”
The initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way then reflected on Jesus’ call to Peter, and Peter’s response to the Lord, to his love for the journey toward holiness.
The call to a vocation
In these types of gatherings, Argüello encourages those who believe they may have a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life to come forward in what the Neocatechumenals call “the call to a vocation.”
“First the boys — 5,000 of them stood up! — and then the girls — 5,000 of them stood up! — and went to the stage to receive the blessing of the cardinals and bishops. For those who responded to this initial call, a process to discern and mature their vocation will then take place at the various vocational centers,” the Neocatechumenal Way website explains.
To conclude the event, which lasted approximately three hours, Reina told the young people present: “After accepting the kerygma, aspire to greater things, to holiness.”
“May this be the response to Pope Leo’s call. The Lord has addressed this invitation to us; the Lord calls all of us to holiness. Always leave room for the Word of God, because God takes nothing away from our happiness,” he added.
Finally, the cardinal emphasized that “for some of you today, a path to happiness is opening up, to a full life, full of God, full of happiness.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
