BRO. Jimmy Ilagan (left), Couples for Christ executive director with the members of the CFC International Council (Board of Trustees), speaks during the Metro Manila Mission Core Gathering as he announces the launch of Couples for Christ’s ‘Journey to 45’ countdown for the organization’s 45th anniversary celebration.
Photograph courtesy of CFC
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An official from the Vatican urged Couples for Christ (CFC) to ensure that helping families remains at the center of political, social, and economic life, saying they are essential to building stronger communities and renewing the Church.
Cardinal Mario Grech said this in a message for the 45th anniversary of Couples for Christ, saying the family remains at the heart of both society and the Church’s mission.
Grech said, “For this reason, we must promote every initiative that helps keep the family at the centre of political, social and economic decisions.”
The Maltese cardinal, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops since 2020, said the movement has an important mission in local communities and across the world, particularly as the Catholic Church continues its synodal journey.
Addressing members in Asia, he urged them to foster dialogue and unity in increasingly diverse societies.
He encouraged CFC members, “In the spirit of the synodal conversion that the Church is living today, to accompany families and Christian communities in building bridges of dialogue among the many cultures, ethnicities and religious traditions present in your societies.”
The cardinal noted that the anniversary coincides with the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on marriage and family life, which continues to shape the Church’s pastoral outreach to families.
He also recalled Pope Leo XIV’s anniversary message encouraging Catholics to continue the Church’s pastoral renewal and care for families.
Citing the pope’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Grech said the family is “a primary social good” and “the fundamental and irreplaceable cell of every community organization.”
He said Christian families should not remain only recipients of pastoral care but become missionary witnesses that bring Christ’s love into their homes, neighborhoods, and society.
Couples for Christ (CFC), founded in the Philippines in 1981, has grown into a global Catholic lay movement dedicated to evangelization, family renewal, and social outreach, with communities in more than 100 countries.
