Marriage & Family Life | Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Supporting Family Prayer at Home

Resources to support families praying at home during this period. Some are especially for Sundays and celebrating the liturgical season. Many are for households with pre-school and school-aged children.
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Catholic Church in England and Wales

Have a look at the official site for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW). You can find out more about our work domestically and internationally, read profiles of our bishops, eparchs, prefects and ordinaries, access our latest news, features, podcasts and more.
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Counting our Blessings

Counting our Blessings is a scripture based resource suitable for family use at home which explores some of the 'Real Questions' in family life through 7 guided conversation sessions

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The Call to Adoption and Fostering

Our page looks at the urgent need for more families to provide safe and loving homes for children in care and at how Catholic parishes can discern the best way to become welcoming and supportive communities for those who adopt or foster.
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Seeking God Together

A NEW A practical Companion for parish communities in meeting, welcoming and accompanying families across all the seasons of life from conception to death.
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Marriage

Guidelines for the Preparation of Couples for Marriage were published in 2016 after extensive consultation with marriage preparation providers, relationship and theological experts. Follow the link to read more and purchase a copy of the Guidelines

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Family Group Movement

Family Groups offer understanding, friendship and support to all. They encourage and celebrate family life in its myriad forms and help everyone in the parish feel that they belong

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Recovery from Divorce & Separation

The Restored Lives programme offers a pathway of recovery for those affected by separation and divorce. Contact your local Marriage & Family Life Ministry Coordinator to find out if there are courses already running in your diocese & how you can help to get the Restored Lives programme started in your parish.
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Home is a Holy Place

Raising awareness and understanding of the graced, blessed and holy reality of Christian marriage and family life, to restore families "reasons for confidence" in themselves, in the riches that they "possess by nature and grace and in the mission that God has entrusted to" them. (Familiaris Consortio #86)

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EVERYBODY’S WELCOME

Supporting the development of welcoming, family-sensitive, friendly parishes where everybody feels welcomed, accepted, known and loved for who they are

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Marriage & Family Course

The Maryvale Institute offers a six month distance learning course for anyone who wishes to understand the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage and family. What is God’s plan for human love which is lived in a special way in the vocation to marriage and the family?
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Mental Health Project

Offering a range of resources to help increase spiritual and pastoral support for those with mental health needs, their families and carers in parishes, deaneries, dioceses, schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and organisations

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Light for the Path

For the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy we produced Light for the Path a 6 session user-friendly resource to help families enter into this special time for the church - we are continuing to make these available to help families reflect on what mercy means and how we live it in our daily lives.
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CEDAR

Creating an environment within the Catholic community in which domestic abuse is understood and recognised as unacceptable and strategies are put in place to enable effective responses to signs of domestic abuse

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Passing on the Faith

Resourcing the home, school and parish to support parents and grandparents in their irreplaceable and inalienable task of passing on faith in God

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Family Catechesis

"If we learn to apologize promptly and to give each other mutual forgiveness, the wounds heal, the marriage grows stronger, and the family becomes an increasingly stronger home, which withstands the shocks of our smaller or greater misdeeds."

Pope Francis
General Audience
Saint Peter's Square Rome
Wednesday 4 November 2015
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Family Synod

In April 2016 the Vatican published Amoris Laetitia or 'The Joy of Love' Pope Francis’ eagerly-awaited Apostolic Exhortation on the family, drawing together almost three years of consultations with Catholics around the world.
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DIOCESAN CAPACITY BUILDING

Funding dioceses to help strengthen parish communities and encourage lay leadership through formation, training, pastoral support and community fellowship

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Thank you for visiting us. Our website signposts news, information and sources of support for marriage and family life across the Catholic community in England and Wales. Let us know how we can be of further service to you and yours...

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Marriage

Parenting

Family Ministry

About Us

At the Marriage & Family Life Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales we support the specific pastoral initiatives prioritised by the Bishops in the area of marriage and family life, working closely with diocesan teams, so that family life can flourish in local communities.

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Pope Francis White

There is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems
Amoris Laetitia #57

Diocesan Map

Diocesan Work

Find a Diocesan Coordinator of Family Ministry

Arundel & Brighton
Birmingham | Brentwood
Cardiff | Clifton | East Anglia
Hallam | Hexham & Newcastle
Lancaster | Leeds | Liverpool
Menevia | Middlesbrough
Northampton | Nottingham
Plymouth | Portsmouth | Salford
Shrewsbury | Southwark | Westminster | Wrexham

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Light for the Path
Scripture resource for families
DIOCESAN CAPACITY-BUILDING
Profiling the work of the BIshops' Celebrating Family fund
FAMILY GROUP MOVEMENT
Parish friendship groups drawn from the Catholic community but open to all
CELEBRATING FAMILY:
Blessed, Broken, Living Love
EVERYBODY’S WELCOME
Building welcoming, family-sensitive, friendly parishes
HOME IS A HOLY PLACE
Recognising and responding to God's presence at home with our families
PASSING ON THE FAITH
Supporting parents and grandparents to pass on faith in God
PROCLAIM 15
All the resources featured in the workshop on welcoming, family-friendly parishes at Proclaim '15 in July 2015
MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT
Encouraging and inspiring us as communities of understanding
CEDAR
Catholics Experiencing Domestic Abuse Resources (CEDAR) is a resource for parishes, deaneries and dioceses

Latest News/Events

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Celebrating Holy Week at Home
April 6, 2020
Coronavirus (COVID-19): Supporting Family Prayer at Home
March 30, 2020
Homes for Good: Adoption & Fostering in the Catholic Community
November 18, 2019
Marriage Care Trustee Recruitment & Training Opportunities
October 7, 2019

Get in touch

our address:
Marriage and Family Life Office
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
39 Eccleston Square London SW1V 1BX
email address:
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