On July 6, 2026, the Holy See announced that the meeting on the family convened by Pope Leo XIV will be held at the Vatican from October 7 to 14. Participants, including the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences and several families, will be invited to work on five chosen themes. These range from a renewed appreciation of marriage to the accompaniment of newlyweds and those facing separation or divorce.
The Holy See announced on July 6 that the upcoming event, convened by Pope Leo XIV, will take place October 7–14 to reflect on the legacy of “Amoris laetitia.”
As announced last March by Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican will host this meeting to reflect on “the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris laetitia.” Pope Francis published this apostolic exhortation in 2016, following two synods dedicated to the family in 2014 and 2015.
The meeting will gather all the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and all the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences. A few families will also participate, as the Pontiff announced during the extraordinary consistory on June 27.
The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life — the Vatican department organizing the event — presents this week-long gathering as an opportunity for “encounter, listening, and discernment.”
The five themes
Participants will work on five themes. The first will focus on “the reality, beauty, and challenges” of families today. The dicastery invites a look at how the “rapid changes” marking current society influence “the experience of love between man and woman, generation of life, care, the transmission of the faith, and the mission of the Church.”
The second theme will focus on “young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage.” Noting that many young people have lost confidence “in the possibility of building a stable marital and family project,” the organizers call for solutions to help them rediscover “the promise of Christian marriage.” They notably wish to respond to this “search for meaning” by proposing the testimony of “faithful and credible couples.”
The challenges of marriage
The third theme focuses on conjugal life, and more particularly on the first years of marriage, described as “an especially important phase.” These moments require “particular attention,” the dicastery notes. For couples, it’s a time for “strengthening the marital bond and facing together the changes that accompany the beginning of family life,” such as the arrival of children or “the challenge of balancing family and work.”
The fourth theme concerns the way the Church can accompany families facing life’s difficulties. This notably involves relationship problems within conjugal life, in particular abandonment, separation, and divorce.
The fifth theme focuses on how families can be “subjects of the Church’s mission” as a place for transmitting the faith to children, but also for bearing “daily witness to the Gospel.” “In a rapidly changing world, the contribution of families to the Church’s mission is more necessary than ever in fostering an ‘apprenticeship in enduring love,’” the dicastery says.
