On Friday, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of the
diocese of Westminster in London signed a decree officially establishing
the Redemptoris Missionary Seminary. The signing took place during a meeting with the initiators and leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way, including Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández, Fr. Mario Pezzi and other leaders of the organisation.
The meeting was attended by almost 2000 people.
This important step comes after twenty years of collaboration between the diocesan seminary Allen Hall and the Neocatechumenal Way.
“During all these years of cooperation,” the diocese said, “a huge growing in mutual trust and comprehension has taken place in the instruction of the candidates to priesthood, deeply appreciating the strength of the Neocatechumenal Way and its educational itinerary.”
The agreement established that the seminary, as all Redemptoris Mater seminaries, has a strong missionary character and “prepare[s] priests with a vocation and Christian life nourished by the Neocatechumenal Way, ready to serve not only as priests of the Westminster diocese, but also to respond to the many invitations and petitions from the New Evangelization in countries all over the world.”
This “agreement also establishes the basis for “a generous participation of the Westminster's diocese in the missio ad gentes, which is vital for the Neocatechumenal Way's view, where the support of the Neocatechumenal Way's families is essential”, the diocese explained in a communiqué.