Some notable quotes on the family

“Family is an anthropological fact – a socially and culturally related fact. We cannot qualify it based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history. We can’t think of conservative or progressive notions. Family is a family. It can’t be qualified by ideological notions.” – Francis

“The first and fundamental structure for a "human ecology" is the family, founded on marriage, in which the mutual gift of self as husband and wife creates an environment in which children can be born and grow up.” – , #39

“It is in the family that children, from the tenderest age, can learn to perceive the meaning of God, also thanks to the teaching and example of their parents: to live in an atmosphere marked by God’s presence.” – Pope Benedict XVI

“The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.” –

The family, which is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives… without love the family is not a community of persons and, in the same way, without love the family cannot live, grow and perfect itself as a community of persons. – , #18

“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others and share their burdens.” – St. John Paul II

“A healthy family life requires frequent use of three phrases: May I? Thank You, and I’m Sorry and never, never, never end the day without making peace.” – Pope Francis

…that together you may with ONE VOICE glorify the God and Father of our Lord Christ (Rom. 15:6) Teachers’ Centre, 2015

“In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.”- Eva Burrows “You do not choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”-Desmond Tutu

“The union of man and woman in marriage [is] a unique, natural, fundamental and beautiful good for persons, communities, and whole societies.” – Pope Francis

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”- Mother Teresa

“Every family is always a light, however faint, amid the darkness of this world.” – Pope Francis

"The family is one of the indispensable social subjects for the achievement of a culture of peace." – Pope Benedict XVI

All families should, above all, be treated with respect and love and accompanied on their journey as Christ accompanied the disciples on the road to Emmaus. – Lineamenta on the vocation and mission of the family

“In the family we learn to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them. That is why families are so important in God’s plan.” – Pope Francis

“In the family sorrows and joys are shared, since all feel enveloped in the love that prevails at home, a love that stems from the mere fact of belonging to the same family.” – Pope Benedict XVI

…that together you may with ONE VOICE glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6) Catholic Teachers’ Centre, 2015

"How do you expect to have peace in your families if you have no peace with God?" – Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi

“Not only would I say that the family is important for the evangelization of the new world. The family is important, and it is necessary for the survival of humanity. Without the family, the cultural survival of the human race would be at risk. The family, whether we like it or not, is the foundation.” – Pope Francis

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” – St. John Paul II

"In families, children bring headaches. I won’t speak about mother in laws. But in families, there is always a Cross. Always. Because of the love of God, the Son of God opened up that way. But also in families, after the Cross there is Resurrection.” – Pope Francis

“To overcome today's individualistic mentality, a concrete commitment to and is needed, beginning in the family.” – Evangelium Vitae, #49

“Every threat to the family is a threat to society itself. The future of humanity, as John Paul II often said, passes through the family. – Pope Francis

…that together you may with ONE VOICE glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6) Catholic Teachers’ Centre, 2015