Youth, life paths and family project

On 21 and 22 May 2026, the International Workshop on the theme Youth, Life Paths and Family Project was held in Barcelona at the headquarters of the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, organised by the International Network of University Institutes for the Family (REDIUF) under the patronage of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The event was attended by over 50 lecturers and researchers from 40 university institutes and centres specialising in marriage and family studies, hailing from Europe, Latin America and Africa. They reflected on how to help the younger generations gain a deeper understanding of the family project as an essential part of their life journey, including through academic engagement and university education.

Building a coherent and robust Christian understanding of the family

Catholic universities, in fact, have a mission to develop a coherent and robust Christian perspective on the family, yet today they engage with young people from multicultural and complex backgrounds. Being well-versed in one’s own discipline is not enough: a strategic and shared vision of the family is required – one firmly grounded in Christian anthropology and capable of engaging with young people – in order to be effective in their education and guidance.

REDIUF: committing to the formation of young people and support for families

Among the priority issues: the need to combine academic research with pastoral action; to strengthen international networks of collaboration between centres and institutes in research and educational provision; to create observatories and joint projects; and to promote the ‘culture of marriage and the family’ amongst the younger generations in a more strategic manner, with a keen focus on openness to life and on how motherhood and fatherhood are perceived today. The findings of the shared research have highlighted the fears, aspirations, obstacles and opportunities that young people face in today’s social and cultural context. Taking this reality into account, the REDIUF institutes have identified a twofold mission: on the one hand, to support young people through innovative educational projects and methodologies; on the other, to provide forms of support for families so that they may develop the skills to listen to, be close to and guide their children, in order to respond more effectively to their concerns.

Gabriella Gambino: creating spaces for dialogue between theology and the human sciences, between seminaries, universities and families

On the second day of the proceedings, Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, took part with a presentation entitled REDIUF and the Holy See: the mission of Catholic-inspired university institutes for the family, in which she emphasised the importance of placing the research work of Catholic universities at the service of pastoral care: “The decisive shift is cultural rather than organisational: recognising that academic research on the family is not a speculative luxury, but a qualified ecclesial service, and that family pastoral care is not a secondary field of application, but the place where academic thought can test its fidelity to the Gospel, to people’s needs and to their real lives”.

With regard to formation, and in particular the formation of priests, the Undersecretary went on to emphasise that “one cannot proclaim the Gospel of the family without adequate preparation of those called to provide pastoral accompaniment to families” and invited the institutes present “to reflect with the bishops on possible collaborations, including with seminaries, on the formation of formators, on the development of innovative pedagogical models, and on the creation of spaces for dialogue between theology and the human sciences, between seminaries, universities and families”.

REDIUF and REDIFAM Assemblies: new Presidents elected

Following the workshop, on Saturday 24 May, the Plenary Assemblies of REDIUF and REDIFAM (Network of Family Institutes of Latin America) were held, respectively, at which their Executive Councils were re-elected for the two-year period 2026–2028. Expressing their gratitude for the hard work and effective leadership of the outgoing Presidents – Professor Montserrat Gas-Aixendri for REDIUF and Professor Lorena Bolzon for REDIFAM – the Assemblies elected Professor Alexandra Planker de Aguerre, Director of the Institute for Marriage and the Family at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, as President of REDIUF, and Professor Ana Lucía Unda Costa, Director of the Latin American Institute for the Family at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja in Ecuador, as President of REDIFAM.

The meeting concluded on Sunday 24 May with the celebration of Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, on the Solemnity of Pentecost.