Special year of family begins with Joseph’s feast

Presenting God's plan for the family is truly good news, a source of joy and hope, says Vatican official.

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At the beginning of Amoris Laetitia, his document on family life, Pope Francis says, “The Christian proclamation on the family is good news indeed.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, took up that statement in speaking about the special Year of the Amoris Laetitia Family, which begins on this feast of St. Joseph, within the Year of St. Joseph.

He said it is “more appropriate than ever” to “dedicate an entire pastoral year to the Christian family, because presenting God’s plan for the family to the world is a source of joy and hope. It is truly good news!”

According to the Vatican official, the pope wants to see three particular aspects of renewal:

Greater collaboration;
A change of mentality that would allow us to see the family as protagonists, and not simply as objects, of pastoral ministry;
The formation of those who train future ministers.

A variety of events are planned for the year, including the first Year of Grandparents and the Elderly, which will be celebrated around the feast of Jesus’ grandparents, Joachim and Anne, on July 26, 2021.

Beginning on Monday, a series of 10 videos will be released as a “form of dialogue,” with families sharing their experiences, and Pope Francis responding to the issues they raise.

The 10th World Meeting of Families, to be held in Rome in June 2022, will close this year. It will focus on the theme “Family love: Vocation and path to holiness.”

The bishops’ conference of the United States noted their involvement:

The Year “Amoris Laetitia Family” is meant to be both a year of celebrating families and to renew the Church’s identity as a “family of families” (AL 87).The USCCB’s Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youthwill be unpacking different aspects of Amoris Laetitia, particularly those related to the Holy Father’s proposed “Walking with Families: Twelve Ways to Walk with FamiliesFollowingAmoris Laetitia.”Pope Francis has asked all those who minister to families inthe Church toconsider how they can further develop and implement these proposals at the local level.