“Let Us All Become Fishers of Families”

The meeting of the International Secretariat of New Families (Focolare Movement) ended in Nairobi, with delegates from all over the world gathering from 23-25 October 2025, under the theme “Sowing family, reaping hope”. On the third day, dedicated to “The family and the challenges of the future”, Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, delivered her address.

A pastoral shift: from fragility to mission

In her talk entitled “Let us all become fishers of families” – a phrase echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV – Undersecretary Gambino outlined a pastoral vision anchored in the missionary role of the family, the heart of ecclesial life. This perspective springs from a deep desire: “to go fishing”, that is, to reach out to men and women in their fragility, sharing with them God’s hope and tenderness. It is a mission that calls upon everyone – priests, couples, the elderly, and the young – to be living signs and witnesses of hope for our time.

“The family must not only be helped; it must also help. It must not only be accompanied; it must also accompany”. This invitation from Pope Leo XIV urges a shift from serving families to sharing the mission with families. It is within the fabric of daily life – in the love of parents, the patience of the elderly, and the curiosity of the young – that faith is born and passed on. Families are called to cast the net of God’s love, “so that no one may be lost” (cf. Jn 3:16).

The image of “fishers of families”

At the heart of Gambino’s message was the biblical image of the fishermen: the Church is called to “fish” for humanity distant from God, especially those families who, for various reasons, find themselves spiritually far away, struggling to maintain strong relationships and hesitant to approach faith on their own. Professor Gambino recalled the Pope’s words, urging everyone “to join in the work of the whole Church in seeking out those families who no longer come to us, in learning how to walk with them and to help them embrace the faith and become in turn ‘fishers’ of other families”. This call transforms families from passive recipients into active agents of evangelization – called to “extend the net of God’s love, healing, and mercy”.

A cross-cutting pastoral ministry: working together

The Undersecretary outlined a concrete path forward, emphasizing the need to build a cross-cutting pastoral ministry to family life – one that can no longer be viewed in isolated segments but must embrace every stage of family life: from childhood and adolescence, to courtship, marriage and old age.

Her invitation to ecclesial communities and movements alike was to gather around a shared table to envision and carry out “joint projects” capable of accompanying families in every season and stage of life.

Faith is regenerated in the family

Concluding her address, the Undersecretary urged the leaders of the New Families Movement to adopt a radical change in perspective towards pastoral care of the family. She invited everyone to move beyond the mentality that mainly views families as “full of problems”, always in need of immediate solutions.

Indeed, there is a key difference between human and divine pedagogy: while human pedagogy tends to focus on “solving problems”, God’s pedagogy is rooted in the “abundance of Life” – a life that gives meaning to difficulties and redeems humanity.