July 28, 2021

The Church Celebrates the Family

On March 19, 2021, the Church celebrates the fifth anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, on the beauty and joy of love in the family.  On this same day, Pope Francis will launch the year “Amoris Laetitia Family,” which will conclude on June 26, 2022, during the X Meeting of Families in Rome with the Holy Father.

Pope Francis announced the year of “Amoris Laetitia Family during his Angelus Message on the Feast of the Holy Family on December 27, 2020.

He ended his address invoking the Blessed Mother, “May the Virgin Mary grant that families throughout the world be increasingly fascinated by the evangelical ideal of the Holy Family, so as to become a leaven of [a] new humanity and of a genuine and universal solidarity.” For more information visit the Year of “Amoris Laetitia Family” Website.

U.S. Bishops launch web pages for celebration of Year of Amoris Laetitia Family

WASHINGTON – Marking the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis has asked the Church to celebrate the family and reflect upon how ministry supports married couples and the family in every level of Church life. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth is coordinating the anniversary celebration in the U.S.

The “Year of Amoris Laetitia Family” is meant to be an opportunity for reflection and appreciation of the Holy Father’s apostolic exhortation.

The “Year of Amoris Laetitia Family” is meant to be an opportunity for reflection and appreciation of the Holy Father’s apostolic exhortation. In launching this initiative, the Vatican is upholding the important role that families play, which has been highlighted during the COVID pandemic. The spiritual, pastoral, and cultural content and resources for the initiative are meant to reach families around the world and are meant to be implemented at the local level in parishes and dioceses, as well as in universities, by ecclesial movements, and family associations.

The USCCB has launched new pages on its website to celebrate the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family, which started March 19, 2021, and will run until June 26, 2022. The celebration will conclude at the Tenth World Meeting of Families in Rome in June 2022. For more information visit usccb.org.