FAMILIA is an

apostolate An apostolate is a Christian organization "directed to serving and evangelizing the world", most often associated with the Anglican Communion or the Catholic Church. In more general usage, an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the ...

affiliated with the

Regnum Christi Federation Regnum Christi, officially the Regnum Christi Federation (Latin: Regnum Christi Foederationis) is an international Catholic Federation. It is made up of lay Catholics, as well as the religious congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (seminarian ...

, founded in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, designed to strengthen Christian family life. It stands for ''FAMIly Life In America''. As the director in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

summarized it to the ''

Western Catholic Reporter The Archdiocese of Edmonton () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese in the Canadian civil province of Alberta and the seat of its archbishop is at St. Joseph Cathedral, a minor basilica in Edmonton. The Archdiocese of Edmont ...

'', "Familia was put together from what Pope John Paul II said about family."

History

Familia was founded in 1993 by Paul and Libbie Sellors as a four-year program of catechetical formation. The series moves from encyclical to encyclical, and then through the Universal Catechism in a coherent way that creates the building blocks of faith. In 2009, it co-sponsored the National Marriage Conference with the Diocese of Lexington. In 2012, the former communications director was hired as Family life coordinator for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In 2012, the Cana Family Institute assumed the apostolate with the intent of relaunching it in conjunction with other marriage and family programs.

Program

The center of FAMILA is a regular meeting that includes a Gospel reflection, catechesis, study of a magisterial document related on family life, and a resolution. The materials are prepared by those with graduate-level ecclesiastical degrees in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and is designed to study the magisterial documents sequentially. Beyond this meeting, FAMILIA trains and equips the leaders and provides different helps to improve family life. FAMILIA usually exists as part of parish or diocesan structures in a variety of parishes throughout Canada, the USA, and the Philippines.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Familia USA Website

Familia Canada Website

The Familia Saga
Regnum Christi Legion of Christ Catholic Church in the United States