María del Carmen Hernández Barrera (24 November 1930 in

Ólvega Ólvega is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. , the municipality had a population of 3,749 inhabitants. Villages *Muro de Ólvega Muro, a word meaning wall in the Spanish, Portuguese Italian, Esperanto and ...

– 19 July 2016 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) was a Spanish Catholic

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

and the co-founder of the

Neocatechumenal Way The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW is a program in the Catholic Church. It is inspired by the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church where converts from paganism were prepared for baptism through a process ...

. Her cause for canonization has been initiated.

Biography

Carmen Hernández was born on 24 November 1930 in

, Spain, but she moved with her family at a very young age to Tudela, Spain where she spent most of her childhood. When she was 15 years old, her family moved to

. As a teenager, she resolved to be a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and wanted to go to India, but her father would not permit it. She obtained a degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

in Madrid by the age of 21. As soon as she could, she fulfilled her desire to become a missionary by joining the Missionaries of Christ Jesus, from whom she received a degree in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. However, in 1962, she was expelled from the order. Thereafter, she lived for two years in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to deepen her understanding of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and catechesis, before returning to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Inspired by

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène, vicomte de Foucauld de Pontbriand, (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916), commonly known as Charles de Foucauld, was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuare ...

, she devoted herself to the poor and marginalized in Palomeras Altas, one of the many

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

s in postwar Madrid. Through her sister, who was rescuing homosexuals & prostitutes, she met Kiko Argüello who invited her to join the

Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' (, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first course" from January 7 to 10, ...

but she refused, and together they formed the

in 1964. Hernandez always rejected the term "movement" because she hoped it would bless and revitalize the whole Catholic Church. Hernandez continued to be one of the primary leaders of the Neocatechumenal Way throughout her life, along with Argüello and Mario Pezzi. The

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

awarded both Hernández and Argüello

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

doctorate in theology in 2015 in recognition of "their devotion to the poor and the good work they have done for the Church". The University specifically recognized Hernández' knowledge of Christian scripture and church history as having been essential for the success of Neocatechumenal Way. She died on 19 July 2016 in

at age 85. At her passing,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

voiced appreciation for the witness of her faith and encouraged members of the Neocatechumenal Way to continue her work. Hernandez was described as courageous, determined, and blunt. On 19 July 2021 on the 5th year of the death of Carmen the members of the Neo Catechumenal Way has request for the opening of the cause of beatification and canonization of its co-founder.

Biography

See also