Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis issued a pastoral letter to families on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and the 10th anniversary of his installation as archbishop.
Topic “Only one thing is necessary: how Catholic families can strive to be united in this life and the next“, the letter emphasizes that strong Catholic families are essential to the future of both the Church and society.
The archbishop says he wrote the letter in response to parents who want the Church’s help in raising faithful families. Drawing inspiration from more than three decades of ministry, he notes the deep love and concern he witnessed, recalling families “who wanted nothing more than to lead their families to Jesus” and who “instinctively understood and imitated what Jesus taught Martha in the midst of her anxiety: ‘The only thing that is necessary,’ to be with Jesus (Luke 10:42).”
Hebda, quoting St. John Paul II, emphasized that the future of the Church and society depends on strong families:
“The family is the first and foremost unit of society. In its own way it is a living image and historical representation of the mystery of the Church. The future of the world and of the Church, therefore, passes through the family… As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.”
The archbishop outlined the immediate challenges facing modern families, such as “the general societal decline in religious practice and church affiliation”, prioritizing money over relationships, increasing fatherlessness, mental illness and addiction, loneliness, and declining marriage and birth rates.
“Raising a Christian family has never been easy,” he writes. “In addition to those perennial challenges, today’s families face the challenges of our time.”
Regarding the ubiquity of screens, the archbishop asks: “What would our families and our society look like if we spent a fraction of what we spend looking at the faces of our family members on screens?”
Despite the “uphill battle” families are fighting, he urges them not to lose heart: “Dear families, please take heart. You are not alone. The Church is traveling with you, the Church loves you, and the Church needs you!”
In the letter, Hebda encourages sacred marriage as a foundation, and calls on parishes to become a “family of families” and help Catholic families by providing concrete support to pursue the faith.
In this context, the Archbishop invites the entire Archdiocese to read and discuss the document in the coming year (July 2026-June 2027) as a pastoral priority.
Sacred examples of family life
The archbishop cited the example of several pious couples, including the Ulama family, who were killed by the Nazis along with their six children for harboring Jews in 1944. Pope Francis beatified the entire family in 2023.
He calls St. Therese of Lisieux, the parents of St. Louis and Zélie Martin, who were the first married couple to be canonized together, as trustworthy models of general piety.
He said the hard-working, middle-class couple “determined to do three things very well: love each other and their children unconditionally; teach their children about God and the religious life; and worship God at home and in the parish.”
He encourages families to do the same.
Hebda commends the letter to Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, and concludes it with a prayer for the Holy Family of Nazareth composed by Pope Francis.
The full letter is available as a free pdf downloadIn addition to a Spanish-language edition, an audio edition and a printed souvenir edition. Parish resources and small group guides are also provided on the website.
