Vatican confirms World Meeting of Families to take place in Dublin in August 2018

The Vatican has confirmed that the World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin on August 22-26, 2018, with the theme, ‘The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World’.

The announcement for the ninth World Meeting of Families was made at a press conference in the Vatican this morning, attended by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, and the head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Archbishop Vincenzo Pagila.

A statement released by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference said Pope Francis “has expressed his desire to attend” the World Meeting but that it is too early to confirm his participation.

The Archdiocese of Dublin is the host diocese for the meeting which takes place once every three years in different parts of the world.

Speaking at the press conference, Archbishop Martin said that while the 2018 World Meeting will be held in Dublin, “it is an event of the entire Church”. He also said it was significant that Pope Francis chose the family as the theme of the first Synod of Bishops of his pontificate.

“Hopefully the World Meeting will be an important milestone in the application of the fruits of the Synodal process and of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Letitia”, he said.

“The meeting will be a significant event for the Church in Ireland and for Irish families. Ireland – despite what many think – has a strong family culture. That said, Ireland is a very open country and is open to all the pressures of Western secular culture regarding marriage and the family.

“The theme chosen for the World Meeting of Families thus wishes to stress the role of the family within society and the contribution of families to the overall health and stability of society.”

He added: “There are indeed many families in Ireland who struggle a precarious economic situations. There is a housing crisis. The Church’s catechetical programmes regarding marriage and the family need a complete overhaul in line with what Amoris Laetitia sets out.”

The Dublin Meeting will be prepared for by a process of catechesis – based on Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) which was published last month – and this will take place right across the Church in Ireland during 2017 and 2018.

“The World Meeting of Families in Dublin will hopefully be a festival of witness to the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. The vocation of Christian couples, supported by the Sacrament of Marriage, is a call to witness to that love and to experience the joy of bringing the love of Jesus to those who are troubled and challenged,” said Archbishop Martin.

Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Primate of All Ireland, welcomed the announcement and thanked Pope Francis “for his inspiring choice of theme”.

“After World Youth Day in Krakow this July, the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in 2018 will be the next great global event in the calendar of the Universal Church. The Catholic Church in Ireland is blessed to have been chosen to host, for the first time, this special faith-filled event for families,” he said.

“It is my hope that families in every parish in the country will be able to participate in the preparation for the World Meeting, and that many families will take part in the various events being planned for late summer 2018. The World Meeting provides the perfect context for us to rediscover the vocation and mission of the family in the life of the Church and in Irish society.”