Laity Family Life

Information Regarding World Children’s Day

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:26:59 +0100

Following the Chirograph of the Holy Father Leo XIV regarding World Children’s Day (February 12, 2026), the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, after careful consideration and in agreement with the Holy Father, has considered it appropriate to cancel the celebration of the Second World Children’s Day, initially scheduled to take place in Rome from September 25 to 27, 2026. All initiatives aimed at the pastoral care of children may be celebrated, at the discretion of the Ordinaries, at...

Message of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for the Tenth Anniversary of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:26:32 +0100

Dear brothers and sisters, On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis offered the universal Church a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life, which was the fruit of three years of synodal discernment enriched by the Jubilee Year of Mercy: the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage...

A Community of Believers and the Power of Witness: Discovering the Beauty of Marriage

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:06:05 +0100

“Cultivating the proclamation of the faith, fostering the involvement in the community of those who approach the Church before and after marriage, and offering “joyful” and “contagious” witnesses to family life, these are the first steps that can help us create together a favorable environment for the marriage catechumenate.” With these words, Cardinal Kevin Farrell addressed the participants in the 4th North American Marriage Catechumenate Summit, which took place from March 16...

Worldwide Marriage Encounter: a new association recognized by the Dicastery

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:08:18 +0100

On Wednesday March 11th 2026, in the offices of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, more than thirty delegates representing five continents took part in the ceremony granting Worldwide Marriage Encounter canonical recognition as an international private association of the faithful. The Decree of recognition is dated February 2nd 2026, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and also approves the associations statutes, and grants it juridical personality in canon law. The Prefect,...

Youth in Dialogue. Fraternity as a bond of peace

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:09:22 +0100

"Youth in Dialogue. Fraternity as a bond of peace" was the theme of the meeting that took place from March 6 to 8 in Turin, Italy, at the Arsenale della Pace (Sermig headquarters), promoted by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in collaboration with the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life. About a hundred young people from different parts of the world gathered to discuss peace, disarmament, dialogue, and fraternity in these difficult and dark times. Among the...

WYD Seoul 2027 Preparations Enter Implementation Phase with Global Kick-off Meeting

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:04:02 +0100

Some 245 youth ministry leaders and representatives from around the world joined the meeting. Pilgrim participation packages and Second International Preparatory Meeting for WYD Seoul 2027 introduced Preparations for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 entered a significant new phase as the WYD Seoul 2027 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (DLFL) jointly hosted the online “Kick-off Meeting for the Implementation Phase” on March 5 at 1:30...

Applying the Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:54:42 +0100

Photo: © Gianni Proietti - Pontifical University of the Holy Cross

At the service of the Church in Slovenia, Puerto Rico and Peru

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:18:12 +0100

Every five years, bishops from different Episcopal Conferences make an Ad Limina Apostolorum visit to meet with the Holy Father. On this occasion, they also meet with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia to dialogue and listen to each other on issues that are most important to their local Churches. Last January, after the break due to the Holy Year of Jubilee, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life resumed the visits of bishops, welcoming the Episcopal Conferences of Slovenia, Puerto...

Pray with the Pope: For children with incurable diseases

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:12:40 +0100

The Holy Father's prayer intention for February is dedicated to children. There are very serious illnesses and conditions which, although not fatal, are prolonged over time because they are incurable. This becomes particularly dramatic for those who are at the beginning of their lives: children, and their entire family environment. In his prayer intention for February, Pope Leo XIV invites us to pray that children with incurable diseases and their families may receive the necessary...

‘I will never forget you’ is the theme of the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:05:34 +0100

‘I will never forget you’ (Is 49:15) is the theme chosen by the Holy Father for the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly which aims to emphasise how God's love for each person never fails, even in the fragility of old age. Taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the chosen verse is intended to be a message of consolation and hope for all grandparents and the elderly, especially those who live in solitude or feel forgotten. At the same time, it is a call to families and...

The united, living Church generates faith

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:13:57 +0100

On the third and final day of the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, participants were received in audience by Pope Leo XIV. Below find the Holy Father's address, delivered in Italian. ________________________ Your Eminence, Your Excellencies, dear priests, brothers and sisters, I am pleased to meet you in these days, in which you are gathered for the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. At the centre of...

3rd Plenary Assembly: help lay people with basic formation in Christian life

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:30:28 +0100

On Wednesday, Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, opened his Dicastery's third plenary assembly, being held from 4 to 6 February at the Jesuit General Curia in Rome, insisting there is a great need for a “basic formation” in the Christian life among lay people, in order to respond to “the alarming increase in the number of people who do not know Jesus Christ at all.” Specifically, he called for a “formation of the heart”,...

From 4 to 6 February, the third Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:43:23 +0100

The third Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life will be held from Wednesday 4 to Friday 6 February at the General Curia of the Jesuits in Rome. The theme of the meeting is ‘Until Christ is formed in you’ (Gal 4:19): The formation of the laity in Christian life and the experience of World Meetings. More information about the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life will be made available on this website in the coming days. ...

Nationwide Pilgrimage of WYD Seoul 2027 Symbols begins

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:15:59 +0100

Following their return to Korea in December 2025, the World Youth Day (WYD) Symbols now enter the next stage of their journey: a nationwide pilgrimage across the country. Throughout 2025, the WYD Cross and Icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani, traveled on an international pilgrimage spanning nine countries, including Rome for the Jubilee for Youth—carrying the prayers and hopes of young people from place to place. Symbols will visit the 15 Korean dioceses On January 20, the Archdiocese...

“Pray with the Pope”: monthly prayer intentions in a new format

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:45:01 +0100

The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network and the Dicastery for Communication have announced a new initiative in service of the Holy Father's mission: the project “Pray with the Pope.” Starting this January, and in continuity with the mission begun by Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV will share his monthly prayer intention through a video and audio recording, inviting the universal Church and all people of good will to join spiritually in the same prayer, which they can now recite guided by the Pope...

2026

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:45:01 +0100

Promoting a Pastoral Care of Human Life at the Local Level

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 18:42:28 +0100

Between May and December 2025, 15 online meetings were held by the Dicastery’s Family and Life Area with 60 heads of the Offices for the Pastoral Care of Life from the Conferences of Bishops of every part of the world. Participants also included 31 directors of Family Institutes of Catholic Universities linked to the Dicastery and members of REDIUF, along with 18 leaders of international ecclesial movements and associations working in the field of the defence of life. This was demanding,...

Advent: A Time of Waiting and of Encounter With the Lord

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:32:08 +0100

“I am sure these days in which you have held your new elections will be days of growth for the entire Militia of the Immaculate throughout the world.” With these words, the Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, His Excellency Bishop Dario Gervasi, greeted participants at the 6th Elective Assembly of the Militia of the Immaculate. The Assembly took place in Rome, at the Pontifical Seraphicum Institute, from 27–30 November. Bishop Gervasi celebrated the concluding Mass,...

Respect for Life from Conception to Natural Death

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 13:49:23 +0100

On 15 November, Prof. Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, took part in a study day organized by the Family Global Compact Barcelona platform, coordinated by the Archdiocese. The event, titled “Family and the end of life: a light of hope”, aimed to place the value of life at the centre of society’s attention, so that increasing longevity and accompaniment at the end of life may become a gift of a life filled with hope. The alliance between...

Peace begins at home: families are the cradle of the future of humanity

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:23:08 +0100

On 21 November, the French Catholic Family Associations (AFC) marked their 120th anniversary with a conference in Paris titled “Families are the cradle of the future of humanity (Pope Leo XIV)”. Closing the event, Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, offered a reflection on Family and peace: a solid marital bond as the foundation. Gambino said: “The family is not an isolated microcosm. It is a social actor; it acts in and has an impact on...

The John Paul II Youth Foundation towards WYD Seoul 2027

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:21:43 +0100

A concert evening promoted by the John Paul II Youth Foundation, an instrumental body of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, organised together with the Hungarian Academy in Rome and the Hungarian Pontifical Ecclesiastical Institute, took place on 21 November at the Hungarian Academy in Rome to present the Foundation's activities on the theme: "Youth, Church, Hope. Encounter in Music: towards WYD Seoul 2027‘. The Wiener Mozart Orkester, conducted by Maestro Vinicius...

Una Caro. In Praise of Monogamy

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 13:04:09 +0100

See below the statement by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, on the Doctrinal Note Una Caro. In Praise of Monogamy. Doctrinal Note on the value of marriage as an exclusive union and mutual belonging, which was presented this morning, 25 November 2025, at a press conference by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. *** The Doctrinal Note Una Caro. In Praise of Monogamy. Doctrinal Note on the value of marriage as an exclusive union...

WYD Seoul 2027 releases its Official Prayer

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:43:26 +0100

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for World Youth Day (WYD) Seoul 2027 published the official prayer that will accompany young people and the entire Church on the pilgrimage toward the next World Youth Day. The prayer has been released on the Feast of Christ the King as a spiritual invitation for the global Church to begin preparing for the 2027 gathering. Farrell: I invite young people to raise their voices in a cry for peace, fraternity and hope, that the world so much...

Pope Leo XIV announces the second edition of World Children’s Day

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:00:12 +0100

During today’s Audience, Pope Leo XIV announced that the second edition of the World Children’s Day will take place in Rome from 25–27 September 2026. World Children’s Day, promoted by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, will be a moment of encounter, prayer, and celebration, involving the little ones together with their families, coming from all over the world. “Tomorrow, we celebrate World Children’s Day. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that...

The measure of true love: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 09:41:06 +0100

On 30 October, the Faculty of Theology of Lugano held the solemn inauguration of the 2025–2026 Academic Year, in the presence of the Rector, Prof. René Roux, the Grand Chancellor, H.E. Msgr. Alain de Raemy, teaching staff and students from the Faculty. The Lectio Magistralis was delivered by Prof. Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The title of her lecture was inspired by the words used by Pope Leo XIV to define marriage in his homily for...