A day of celebration and reflection was organised in Rome on Friday 10 June to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the foundation of FAFCE, the federation of Catholic family associations. For the occasion, representatives of the 19 organisations that make up FACE, came together from all over Europe.
The day opened with the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Vatican officiated by the ArchBishop of Vilnius and President of the Council of European Bishops Gintaras Grusass, followed by a private audience with Pope Francis, who had already greeted the work of Fafce five years ago.”In your daily effort to be close to families,’ said Pope Francis, ‘you provide two services: you make the voice of families heard in the European institutions and you work to build networks of families on the continent, in full harmony with the synodal path we have taken to make the Church more and more a family of families’.
In the afternoon, an international conference reaffirmed the significance and commitment of Fafce’s work for European families through the speeches, among others, of the Archbishop of Vilnius , the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic Marian Jurecka, Archbishop Mariano Crociata and Toma Sutic, member of the cabinet of European Vice-Commissioner Dubravka Suika, responsible for Demography and Democracy.
“With its open and defined Catholic identity,” said Regina Maroncelli, president of the European Confederation of Large Families, host of the event, “FAFCE brings forward a family reality that we widely support. The cooperation between our associations is intense, while respecting each other’s characteristics: we care about the good and well-being of families, children, and the most vulnerable people who find their natural shelter in the family. I wish FAFCE all the best and thank them for their engagement and support of large families values”.
