Amoris Laetitia meeting, October 13: prelates discuss missionary role of Christian families

October 14, 2026

On October 13—the fifth full day of the weeklong extraordinary Vatican meeting devoted to Amoris Laetitia—the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences and the heads of the Eastern Catholic churches discussed the fifth of the meeting’s five themes: “Christian families as subjects of the Church’s mission: embracing conjugal and family love as an impetus for mission.”

In announcing this theme, the framework released by the General Secretariat of the Synod in July asked the prelates to discuss three questions:

How can the experience of couples and families be valued as a place of human, spiritual, ecclesial and social growth? How can a journey be fostered in which the couple’s relationship becomes a living experience of growth in faith and in social life? How can the contribution of families to the Church’s evangelizing mission and to the pastoral conversion of Christian communities be recognized and supported?

Amid the confidential discussions, the Vatican published three addresses delivered on October 12, as well as a message:

• a message from the assembly to Pope Leo
• a brief introduction to the theme of the day by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
• an address by Cardinal Protase Rugambwa of Tabora, Tanzania
• an address by Véronique Lonchamp, the French episcopal conference’s national delegate for family pastoral care

Message to the Holy Father

As Pope Leo prepared to enter the hospital for surgery, participants in the assembly assured the Pontiff that “we accompany you in prayer, wishing you a swift recovery, entrusting you and all those who will care for you to the Lord.”

“We are grateful to you for having wanted this Meeting and for encouraging us to listen to families and to the journeys of our Churches,” the prelates added. “As we continue our work, we feel your closeness and carry with us your concern for families throughout the world.”

Cardinal Farrell: Foster the missionary vocation of the family

Cardinal Farrell asked conference participants to “identify those initiatives that most effectively bring to light and foster the missionary vocation of the family.”

“If families are called to become ever more agents of the Church’s mission, this is first of all because of the missionary dynamism inherent in conjugal love itself,” he said. “This begins with the transmission of faith and Christian life within the family and finds fuller expression in the witness of authentic love, capable of inspiring commitment both within the Church and in society.”

“Such witness is rooted in Baptism and Christian initiation, while the sacrament of marriage gives it its own distinctive expression,” he added.

Cardinal Rugambwa: Explore the role of families in forming clergy

Cardinal Rugambwa’s address had three sections:

• A Short Historical Note
• Impact of the Exhortation for the Life and Mission of the Church
• The African Experience of the Church as Family and the reality of Small Christian Communities for the Mission

“The involvement of families as active subjects of pastoral action, is supported very much by the concrete experiences they have gained as faithful and committed Christians, which can be utilized not only in their struggle to support the growth of the Church’s mission but also in shaping the formation of those who are called to accompany them,” he said. “Here comes a very interesting question. In these ten years of Amoris Laetitia, have couples and families in our areas been given a more active role in the formation of seminarians, deacons, and other pastoral workers?”

The prelate concluded:

We need to promote the understanding of the Church as Family, as already proposed by John Paul II. Guided by pastoral and missionary renewal, this has to be in light of a synodal way of being Church anchored on the spirit of communion and participation for the mission of all the People of God.

Mrs. Lonchamp: Families make visible Christ’s love

Mrs. Lonchamp said that when the daily lives of family members “become a place where the Gospel takes flesh and is made visible in relationships, gestures, and everyday trials, they make visible Christ’s love for His Church. And this is their first mission.”

“The coherence between the professed faith and the way of life thus reveals an authentically human and Christian love in all its dimensions: emotional, relational, bodily, and spiritual,” she continued. “It transmits to children a Christian vision of love, an essential reference point for their emotional and relational lives, especially in a cultural context marked by the trivialization of pornography.”

Although Mrs. Lonchamp spoke about the importance of coherence between faith and life, she also said that the Gospel can lived by those whose “situation does not fully align with the Christian ideal of marriage.”

“Through thousands of small but real gestures, everyone experiences forgiveness, patience, service, fidelity, and mercy,” she said. “These attitudes can be lived and manifested in any family that seeks to live the Gospel, even when their situation does not fully align with the Christian ideal of marriage.”

“Recognizing families as active subjects invites the Church to receive from them an irreplaceable experience of love, fidelity, education, fragility, and forgiveness,” she continued. “It is not just about entrusting them with more pastoral responsibilities. The Church is also called to learn from their know-how, which stems from their way of being.”

“Because they live daily the joys and vulnerabilities of human relationships, families know that a person grows through unconditional acceptance, faithful presence over time, patient discernment, and an inclusive approach that refuses exclusion; they also know from experience that a family grows when it makes room for the smallest and most fragile,” she added, concluding:

It is essential to support families in their missionary vocation. However, the issue is not only what the Church can do with them but also recognizing what the Church receives from them. When the Church recognizes families as true agents of mission, they help the Church become more synodal, missionary, and attentive to people.

 

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Further information:

• Message from the Assembly to the Holy Father Leo XIV (AmorisLaetitia.va, 10/13/26)
• Cardinal Farrell's address (AmorisLaetitia.va, 10/13/26)
• Cardinal Rugambwa's address (AmorisLaetitia.va, 10/13/26)
• Mrs. Lonchamp's address (AmorisLaetitia.va, 10/13/26)