Kiko Argüello
Kiko Argüello | |
|---|---|
Castilla y León, Spain | |
| Nationality | Spanish  |
| Alma mater | Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando |
Francisco José Gómez de Argüello y Wirtz (born January 9, 1939) is a Spanish artist and, together with Carmen Hernández, co-initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way.
Early life
Argüello was born in
Crisis and conversion
At the Royal Academy Argüello went through a profound
At the height of this crisis, however, Argüello read another philosopher,
Summing up this period of his life during his meeting with Pope John Paul II in Rome on November 2, 1980, Argüello said, "God permitted me to experience the absurd – atheism – until He had mercy."[2] After his conversion he determined to dedicate his life to Jesus and to the Church. He began to frequent catechism courses and for years he trained as a catechist. Convinced that Jesus is present in the suffering of the poorest of people and inspired by the example of Charles de Foucauld, Argüello abandoned his studies and career as a painter. Taking only his guitar, crucifix, and Bible, he left to live amongst the poor in a wooden shack in Palomeras Altas, a slum on the outskirts of Madrid.
Co-founder
It was among the poor of Palomeras that Kiko encountered Carmen Hernández, a graduate in chemistry and theology. Thanks to the liturgist Priest Farnés Schrerer, they got in touch with the liturgical renewal of the
Through contact with other parishes embracing different standards of living, little by little a Way of Christian Initiation was begun for adults who were rediscovering the richness of their Baptism.
Neocatechumenal Way
After more than thirty years of work in more than a hundred countries, this Neocatechumenate was recognized by Pope John Paul II as an "effective means of Catholic formation for society and the present time."[3] Kiko Argüello, Maria Ascension and the Italian Priest Mario Pezzi are presently the international team responsible for the Neocatechumenal Way worldwide. Its statutes were approved ad experimentum for a period of five years in June 2002. The Statutes, with minimal changes,[4] were given final approval by the Church on June 13, 2008.[5] Today the Neocatechumenal Way is present in more than 110 countries in all the six continents, in nearly 900 dioceses, and in around 8,000 parishes with more than 30,000 communities, 19,000 of which are found in Europe, 10,000 being in Italy.
Fruits of the Neocatechumenal Way were recognized by various Catholic universities and institutes through conferring of
On June 26, 2013, Argüello received an honorary degree from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The University invested him with the honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the renewal of the Church following the indications of the Second Vatican Council, underlining the fruits of the Neocatechumenal Way in the evangelization and in defending the values of human dignity and Christian family.[7]
On May 15, 2015, Kiko Argüello together with Carmen Hernández received his third honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America. During the ceremony, the president of the University John H. Garvey quoted the words of Pope Francis addressed to Kiko and Carmen, saying: "I thank you for the immense good you are doing for the whole Church." The doctorate was awarded mainly "for their devotion to the poor, which has brought so many into communion with Christ and the Catholic faith."[8]
Architecture, paintings and the liturgy
Through the years, Kiko Argüello has painted a large number of religious paintings, in several cities and localities, cathedrals, and churches. He is also a psalmist and has composed well over a hundred and eighty songs of a religious nature, for use in Neocatechumenal Way celebrations and liturgies. Thus an aesthetic renewal has taken place through paintings, architecture, music, songs, and liturgical ornaments. In Rome, Kiko has painted huge murals, in the crypt of the Church dedicated to the
In Florence, he has painted the "Corona Misterica" behind the altar of the Church of San Bartolomeo in Tuto, and has designed, together with the Italian architect Alberto Durante, a Catechumenium (a structure encompassing several halls, intended to hold liturgies by the Neocatechumenal Communities and the Diocese).
In the Parish of the Holy Trinity in
In Madrid, Kiko has also designed the architecture of various Cathecumeniums and has painted different themes in the Parishes of El Transito (The
In Finland, in the city of Oulu, he designed, together with the Swiss architect Gabriele Geronzi, the first parish church in a zone where there had never before been a Roman Catholic church.
In
Just before the royal wedding of
See also
References
- ^ "KIKO ARGÜELLO INTERVIEWED IN EWT". www.camino-neocatecumenal.org. Archived from the original on 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY". www.christusrex.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Papal Letter Ogni Qualvolta (August 30, 1990) | John Paul II". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ Internet, Elemedia S.p.A. - Area. "The Old Form of the Neocatechumenal Mass Is Illicit". chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ Neocatechumenate Gets Final Approval | Zenit Archived 2008-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Neocatechumenal Way Founder Awarded Doctorate|Zenit Archived 2009-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Neocatechumenal Way Initiator Receives Honorary Doctorate from John Paul II Catholic University in Poland | Zenit
- ^ Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernandez Receive Honorary Doctorate from Catholic University of America | Zenit
- ^ "The 'mysterious' disappearance of the original stained glass windows" | EL MUNDO Spanish Newspaper.
- ^ "Kiko Argüello copied the stained glass windows" | EL MUNDO Spanish Newspaper.
External links
- Radio Vaticana: Pope Gives Neocatechumenal Way Final Statutes
- Zenit: Neocatechumenate Gets Final Approval
- Kiko, the Wrath of God (interview with Kiko Argüello)
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