The October 2026 Vatican meeting of bishops will discuss pastoral topics such as divorce and family life to mark the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation on love in the family.
Amoris Laetitia, which addressed the pastoral care of families, drew controversy as to whether Chapter Eight of the exhortation altered the Church’s teaching regarding Communion for divorced people who have civilly remarried.
The meeting, convened by the Pope, will be held from the 7 to the 14 October with the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the episcopal conferences to further explore the implementation of the document.
The Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, said in a statement: “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.’”
In the meeting, bishops from around the world will discuss the themes proposed in a synodal style in order to “renew, together with families, a shared pastoral commitment in support of the family, human life, and the vocation to marriage.”
Five topics are being proposed for reflection: Families today; Young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage; Married life and the first years of marriage; Accompanying and supporting in the difficulties of life; Christian families as subjects of the Church’s mission.
Pope Leo XIV marked the anniversary of the Amoris Laetitia on March 19 with a message that called it “a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life” whilst affirming that the Church must continue to “persevere on this path”, presenting the Gospel to families in a spirit of joy.
