Preparatory document for the October 2026 Meeting published
Vatican, 6 July 2026
The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and the General Secretariat of the Synod have published the Thematic framework, the preparatory and guiding document for the Meeting convened by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, to be held in the Vatican from 7 to 14 October 2026 with the Heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences.
The document has been sent to the Heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris and to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences, and is being made public today. The Thematic framework is intended to prepare for and accompany the work of the Meeting that Pope Leo XIV will hold with them in the Vatican from 7 to 14 October 2026.
The Meeting was first announced by the Holy Father in his Message of 19 March 2026, marking the tenth anniversary of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia. Acknowledging the profound changes that continue to affect families, the Pope expressed his desire “to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches”.
At the conclusion of the recent extraordinary Consistory on 27 June, Pope Leo XIV returned to the theme of the family: “Where the family is supported and accompanied, there grows a school of relationships, solidarity and hope; where it is wounded or isolated, the whole of society bears the consequences.” (Our translation) On the same occasion, he announced that several families would also take part in the Meeting, sharing their lived experience: “Their presence is essential. At the same time, I hope that all those who come will prepare by listening closely to, and bringing with them, the experience of the families in their own Churches” (Our translation) (Address, 27 June 2026).
In Rome, the Bishops from around the world will be invited to engage with the themes proposed in the Thematic framework and to listen attentively to one another, so that, upon returning to their local Churches, they may renew, together with families, a shared pastoral commitment in support of the family, human life, and the vocation to marriage.
The days of the Meeting are intended to provide a genuine space for encounter, listening, and discernment: welcoming the lived experience of families, sharing concrete stories of life, reflecting on the pastoral initiatives through which the ecclesial community accompanies families, and engaging in dialogue with experts. For this reason, the Episcopal Conferences and the Eastern Catholic Churches are invited to begin reflecting on the proposed themes in the months leading up to the Meeting, placing particular emphasis on listening to the families of their local Churches.
This is, therefore, an eminently pastoral journey, one that places families at its centre not merely as recipients of the Church's pastoral care, but as active subjects of her mission, through whom the Gospel takes flesh in everyday relationships, choices, struggles, and hope.
Although the Meeting is not an Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, it will be conducted in a synodal style because – as Pope Leo XIV indicated at the conclusion of the Consistory – it shares the spirit of the Synod’s implementation process, marked by listening, prayer, and discernment.
Five thematic areas are being proposed for reflection, both in preparation for and during the Meeting:
- Families today: reality, beauty and challenges — Discerning the signs of the times through the experience of families and the Church’s pastoral commitment today
- Young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage — Listening to young people and accompanying them in discovering the value of marriage
- Married life. The first years of marriage: a decisive time — Listening to and accompanying couples in the early years of married life and at every stage of life
- In the difficulties of life: accompanying and supporting — Walking with families in complex situations
- Christian families as subjects of the Church’s mission — Embracing conjugal and family love as an impetus for mission
The Thematic framework is available in several languages on https://www.laityfamilylife.va/ and https://www.synod.va.
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Amoris laetitia is the papal document promulgated by Pope Francis on 19 March 2016. It is the fruit of a three-year process of synodal discernment centred on the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (5-19 October 2014) and the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (4-25 October 2015).
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The Thematic Framework is available here.
The News Release is also available in French and Portuguese.