Sorting Out Catholicism: A Brief History of the New Ecclesial Movements

Focolare Community of Sant’Egidio Neocatechumenal Way Legionaries of Christ Communion and Liberation Opus Dei. These are but a few of the most recognizable names in the broader context of the so-called ecclesial movements. Their history goes back to the period following the First Vatican Council crosses Vatican II and develops throughout the twentieth century. It is a history that prepares the movements’ rise in the last three decades from John Paul II to Francis. These movements are a complex phenomenon that shapes the Church now more than before and they play a key role for the future of Catholicism as a global community in transition from a Europe-centered tradition to a world Church.