World Church · October 16, 2026
Leo XIV Convenes Global Meeting to Mark Ten Years of Amoris laetitia
Leo XIV has convened a meeting of the presidents of episcopal conferences from around the world in Rome from October 7 to 14, 2026. The gathering celebrates the tenth anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia.
Under the title Announcing the Gospel with Families Today, the meeting encourages the church to examine the progress made since the publication of the apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis. The pastoral goal is to move beyond simply accompanying families based on their experiences and instead make families active participants in announcing the Gospel. This approach focuses on the evangelization of couples and families through their own active cooperation.
During the opening, Leo XIV raised questions regarding the gap between the experience of sexual intimacy and the Christian vision of marriage. He questioned whether pastoral practices and language truly reach hearts and how to educate for a healthy, evangelical family life in a fragile society. He also asked if couples have truly discovered the originality of the Gospel of marriage as a good news capable of transforming a life.
Amoris laetitia emphasized the evangelical need to welcome, listen, accompany, and discern while attending to wounds and situations through the love and mercy of God. The mission of the church further includes opening paths of healing, restoration, recovery, and resurrection. This central work of the kerygma, which is the missionary announcement of faith, aims to lead families and couples to Christ to experience salvation. This kerygma is intended to be better reflected in future preaching to couples, the training of family pastoral actors, and field practices, such as marriage preparation, testimony training, and retreats in France.
Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general of the Synod, urged the church to understand the fears, experiences, and aspirations of contemporary people through the lens of the Gospel. He called for speaking with truth and requirement in accessible language, listening without judgment, and accompanying people on paths of spiritual, relational, and affective maturation. The church is tasked with helping those who did not receive a conjugal culture based on the Gospel through their education or history to acquire one.
This requires a conversion of pastoral practices, including preparing adolescents for love and the discernment of marriage. It involves helping couples navigate wounds in common life, dialogue, face conflicts, pray together, and experience sexuality as a gift and welcome fertility. Such skills are learned and accompanied through the school of Christ and the Spirit.
Transformation must occur with families rather than just for them. The family is viewed as a domestic church where faith is transmitted and the Gospel is lived, rather than an annex of the parish. Couples are encouraged to use their charisms to contribute to pastoral work and accompany other families, requiring complementarity between marriage and the priesthood.
The Christian vision of marriage presents the dignity of desire and the body, the growth of love beyond emotion, and fidelity as a liberating promise. While the church is not composed of perfect couples and should not present marriage as an idyllic reality, it must remain close to wounded families. This reflects biblical history, where revelation was transmitted through imperfect and sinful families who were saved and transformed by God.