Filipino bishops, cardinals, a married couple and a priest will join Pope Leo XIV’s global meeting on family life at the Vatican.
The Filipinos are among participants gathering Oct. 7-14 for an eight-day meeting marking 10 years since Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation on love in the family.
Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, will represent the country’s bishops at the Vatican gathering.
Two Filipino cardinals are also among those invited by Pope Leo: Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Vatican’s pro-prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization.
David, former CBCP president and current vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, will have a prominent role in the program, giving a principal presentation on accompanying families facing difficulties on Oct. 12.
Tagle, who previously served as Manila’s archbishop, is taking part as an invitee alongside representatives of Churches, episcopal conferences, families and other participants.
The country is also represented by Eren Lyle and Charmaine Bernadette Villegas, a married couple and Couples for Christ missionaries based at the organization’s Vatican office.
Father Enrico Ayo of the Archdiocese of Manila is serving among the assistants during the gathering, according to the organizers’ participant list.
Another Filipino prelate, Archbishop Ryan Jimenez of Agaña in Guam, is attending as president of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
Titled “Ten Years After Amoris Laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel With Families Today,” the gathering includes representatives from all 115 bishops’ conferences and 15 Eastern Catholic churches, as well as theologians, canon lawyers, sociologists and family witnesses.
Participants are discussing marriage preparation, support for newly married couples, family difficulties and the missionary role of Christian families.
Pope Leo will open the meeting Oct. 7 with an introductory address and is scheduled to conclude on Oct. 14 with an address following Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
The gathering marks a decade since Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation that called the Church to accompany families through the realities, joys and challenges of family life.
