Pope Francis on the Sacred Value of Family
Pope Francis views the family as the foundational building block of society and a sacred institution where individuals first learn to love, communicate, and practice forgiveness. He acknowledges the significant challenges families face in modern culture, yet he emphasizes that no family is perfect. Family life is a journey of growth, where love is constantly learned and lived out in everyday situations.
The Pope consistently encourages families to utilize essential words such as "please," "thank you," and "sorry," while highlighting the family's crucial role in faith formation through simple practices like praying together around the table. Despite cultural shifts and societal pressures, he asserts that the family is not primarily a problem but an opportunity. He urges young people to be "revolutionaries" by embracing lifelong commitment in marriage, countering modern trends of impermanence.
Thoughts of Pope Francis on Family:
The Sacred Value of Family
- "The family is the foundation of co-existence and a remedy against social fragmentation." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "The family is where we are formed as people. Every family is a brick in the building of society." - General Audience, October 9, 2013.
- "The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church." - Opening line of Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "Family is not a problem; it is first and foremost an opportunity." - Address to participants in the 37th National Convocation of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit, Rome, June 1, 2014.
- "In the family, we learn how to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them." - General Audience, St. Peter's Square, October 9, 2013.
Marriage as a Sacred Bond
- "Marriage is a project to be worked on together, with patience, and with the awareness that we will have virtues and defects, but it is the will to move forward together." - Meeting with engaged couples, Valentine's Day, 2014.
- "The love of Christ, which has blessed and sanctified the union of husband and wife, is able to sustain their love and renew it when, humanly speaking, it becomes lost, wounded, or worn out." - General Audience, May 6, 2015.
- "Marriage is an act of faith and love, a free giving of oneself to another. It's not enough to say, 'I love you.' We need to put that love into action every day." - Homily at Mass with newly-weds, September 14, 2014.
- "Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion... They suggest that it's not worth making a lifelong commitment because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, to swim against the tide." - World Youth Day, Rio de Janeiro, July 28, 2013.
Embracing Family Challenges
- "Perfect families do not exist. This must not discourage us. Quite the opposite. Love is something we learn; love is something we live. Love grows as it is 'forged' by the concrete situations which each particular family experiences." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed; families need constantly to grow and mature in the ability to love." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "Sometimes the plates fly, children bring headaches, and I won’t speak about mothers-in-law. But in families, there is always light." - Meeting with families in Manila, Philippines, January 16, 2015.
- "In our world, where too much emphasis is placed on physical beauty and the pursuit of superficial concepts of well-being, we need to help young people discover the beauty of authentic love—a love that is not merely physical or superficial but real and fruitful." - Meeting with youth at World Youth Day, Krakow, Poland, July 27, 2016.
Family in Modern Society
- "The family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society." - Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), 2013.
- "Despite the many signs of crisis in the institution of marriage, the desire to marry and form a family remains vibrant, especially among young people, and this is an inspiration to the Church." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
Mercy, Forgiveness, and Communication
- "In the family, three words need to be used. I want to repeat this! Three words: 'Please,' 'Thank you,' 'Sorry.' Three essential words!" - General Audience, May 13, 2015.
- "The family is where we first learn to communicate, and communion is like family life in which we share both the good things and the difficult things." - Message for the 49th World Communications Day, January 23, 2015.
Welcoming and Inclusion
- "No one can be condemned forever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel! Here I am not speaking only of the divorced and remarried, but of everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community." - Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), 2013.
- "The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak." - Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), 2013.
Faith Formation in the Family
- "How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith!" - Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), 2013.
- "We need simplicity to pray as a family: simplicity is necessary! Praying the Our Father together around the table is not something extraordinary; it’s easy." - Meeting with families in Manila, January 16, 2015.
- "Christian families are missionary families... The faith is passed on 'around the family table', in everyday conversation, in the language that persevering love alone knows how to speak." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
- "Those who have deep spiritual aspirations should not feel that the family detracts from their growth in the life of the Spirit but rather see it as a path which the Lord is using to lead them to the heights of mystical union." - Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), 2016.
Pope Francis's vision of family and marriage serves as a profound counterbalance to modern individualism, affirming these institutions as sacred spaces where love, faith, and personal growth can flourish, despite inevitable challenges. Throughout his papacy, he has consistently emphasized that while no family is perfect, the patient work of building loving relationships through communication, forgiveness, and faith creates the essential foundation for both the Church and society. His message invites all to recognize family not just as a traditional structure to preserve but as a dynamic, living community that offers humanity its most authentic path to experiencing God's love in the world.
Fr. Valerian Lobo
Jamshedpur Diocese
Contact: 9113782481