FAMILY LOVE: A VOCATION AND A PATH TO HOLINESS

Rome, June 22-26 2022

WMOF is the acronym for World Meeting of Families, created by Pope John Paul II in 1994. In fact, that year was declared “International Year of the Family” by the United Nations. Pope Wojtyla also wanted a Year of the Family to be celebrated in the Church at the same time; so the 1st World Meeting of Families was created, which was held in Rome on 8 and 9 October 1994. It was promoted, just like subsequent editions, by the Pontifical Council for the Family; in 2016, this Vatican body was disbanded and merged with the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. A World Meeting of Families has therefore been held since 1994 every three years and in different places around the world. The pattern followed has always been fairly similar, with an international Theological-Pastoral Congress at the start and ending, in the presence of the Pope, with a vigil and Festival of Families along with a great final Eucharistic celebration.

This year’s WMOF will focus on the theme of “Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness” and marks the end of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year.

All families are invited to participate by joining the festivals, panels and conferences online. The programme includes Mass with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, talks by lay Catholic couples, and a live performance by Il Volo.

You can download the full program in the button below:

Conferences: There will be 5 conferences with simultaneous translation in at least 5 languages, which can be watched through live streaming.

Panels: In Rome there will be 10 panels, two after each conference, again with simultaneous translation in at least 5 languages, which can be followed via live streaming.
Panels are where people can bear witness and share pastoral tools. Each panel that will be presented in Rome will include three different themes, which will include the main theme of the panel: each theme will be presented by a couple/family from a different geographical area of the world, in order to share the richness of good pastoral practices in the Church.

Festivals, Congresses and celebrations with the Holy Father will also be broadcast in live streaming on the official website of the event, romefamily2022.com, on the YouTube page of the diocese of Rome and, thanks to the collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication, also on Vatican News.

It will also be possible to download the official webapp of the X World Meeting of Families, as well as follow the social channels Instagram and Facebook. Digital participants will receive a certificate of participation after completing the entire webapp path , also available in several languages.

You can download the app and register here: https://app.romefamily2022.com/en/login-register/

Official prayer for the X World Meeting of Families

Heavenly Father,
We come before You to praise You
and to thank You for the great gift of the family.
We pray to You for all families
consecrated by the Sacrament of Matrimony.
May they rediscover each day
the grace they have received,
and as small domestic Churches,
may they know how to witness to Your presence
and to the love with which Christ loves the Church.
We pray to You for all families faced with difficulty and suffering
caused by illness or circumstances of which only You know.
Sustain them and make them aware
of the path to holiness upon which You call them,
so that they might experience Your infinite mercy
and find new ways to grow in love.
We pray to You for children and young people:
may they encounter You and respond joyfully
to the vocation You have in mind for them;
We pray for parents and grandparents: may they be aware
that they are signs of the fatherhood and motherhood of God
in caring for the children who, in body and spirit, You entrust to them;
and for the experience of fraternity
that the family can give to the world.
Lord, grant that each family
might live their specific vocation to holiness in the Church
as a call to become missionary disciples,
in the service of life and peace,
in communion with our priests, religious,
and all vocations in the Church.
Bless the World Meeting of Families.
Amen.