The more ready  you are to give yourself to God and to others, the more you discover the authentic meaning of life.
​- St. Pope John Paul II

OFFICE OF MARRIAGE,
​FAMILY & LIFE

DIOCESE OF EVANSVILLE

Marriage Preparation & Enrichment 
Ministries ​
Respect Life Ministries 
Over 55 Ministry 
Family Ministry 
​Healing & Helping the Heart
Ministries 

UPCOMING EVENTS 
* indicates registration before event​

Thursday December 12, 2024 9:00 am (CST) - 11:00 am (CST)

Domestic Church Conversation - Come meet parents, children and other families all while being able to participate in an open dialogue regarding struggles within families, explore ways on how we can walk together, and work to identify current needs of families in the Diocese of Evansville. This meeting is a starting point for possibly expanding the family ministries within the diocese, at parishes, and within individual families.  

Thursday December 18, 2024 10:00 am CST - 1:00 pm CST

* Wisdom Day Planning Committee - Initial meeting to begin planning 2025 Wisdom Day for South/West Deaneries. Discussion regarding previous Wisdom Day events, develop options for restarting event in Evansville and other ideas, needs, and possible dates.

Saturday February 22, 2025 8:00 am (CST) - 8:00 pm (CST)

* Unveiled Premarital Retreat - Premarital retreat program designed to prepare couples in the Diocese of Evansville for the human reality of married life, with all its potential joys and sorrows, and unveils the mystery of married love as an icon of divine love. The witness of authentic married life lived as a sacrament - that is, an indissoluble, faithful, creative, and complete love exchanged between man and woman - is a compelling testimony that presents the Mystery of Christ to the world anew. 

Retreat to be held at St. John's Daylight (Daylight, IN) 8:00 am - 8:00 pm. This retreat includes light breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Mass which observes Sunday Obligation is included, along with an opportunity for reconciliation. The Truth about NFP course is covered during this single day retreat.   

Saturday March 8, 2025 8:00 am (CST) - 3:45 pm (CST)

* Loving Through Loss (Red Bird Ministry) - A healing workshop for parents of child loss, at any age. The cost includes a lite breakfast, lunch and snacks, scholarships are available. Option to attend Vigil Mass at 04:00 pm (CST) at St. John’s Daylight.

Life Giving Wounds Friday March 14, 2025 - Sunday March 16, 2025

* Life Giving Wounds Weekend Retreat - Christ-centered healing with the time and space to deeply reflect on the wounds created by family’s divorce or separation. An opportunity to find healing alongside others who know the pain.

Red Bird Ministries
Grief Support Programs 

Red Bird Ministries serves ordinary families who have been given an extraordinary cross to carry.  An organization that helps guide individuals, couples, and families through the complexity and trauma that happens with the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood. 

No individual, couple or family should go through this alone and Red Bird Ministries in the Diocese of Evansville is here to help.  Please click here to discover more information and how you can help. 

Red Bird Ministries in the Diocese of Evansville plans to host a local retreat on Saturday March 8th, 2025. Please click here to sign up to get more information. 

Holy Father observes World Day for Grandparents & the Elderly

"Do not cast me off in my old age" (Psalm 71:9)

On Sunday July 28, 2024 Pope Francis celebrated the Fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.  For the theme this year the Holy Father chose a passage from Psalm 71:9 “Do not cast me off in my old age.”

In his full message Pope Francis reminds us that all of us are God’s children and He [God] never abandons us. In previous years the pope has touched on the aging population feeling lonely, isolated and far from God – but this year the theme and message are clear. It is a reminder and a call to the whole church, the body of Christ, that God does not throw away any stone and God uses the “oldest” stones first as they are the firm foundation in which “new” stones can rest, in order to join in erecting a spiritual edifice (1 Peter 2:5).


Click here to read Pope Francis’ full remarks.

Get involved with the 
Office of Marriage, Family & Life

FOSTER CARE 

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"Finally, Christian spouses, in virtue of the sacrament of Matrimony, whereby they signify and partake of the mystery of that unity and fruitful love which exists between Christ and His Church, (108) help each other to attain to holiness in their married life and in the rearing and education of their children. By reason of their state and rank in life they have their own special gift among the people of God.(109) (7*) From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries. The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state."~Lumen Gentium 11
~Oil painting Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Family Spiritual Resources for the home
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These resources have been compiled from our diocese as well as dioceses around the country. 
​Remember that the home is the Domestic Church!
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  • Holy Week Retreat Series from St. Meinrad Archabbey - Online virtual retreat  helping the entire family celebrate the Easter Triduum. Able to revisit to help renew conversations and bringing the family together through the liturgical year.  ​​​​
  • The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life - Created by Holy Cross Family Ministries and Pastoral Solutions Institute to assist in addressing the challenges to all Contemporary Families.  
  • CatholicHÔM - Stands from Catholic Households On Mission, the goal is to help each other love like Christ. It is a digital platform dedicated to helping Catholic Families encounter Christ more meaningfully at home and draw closer to each other by living the Liturgy of the Domestic Church Life. ​

INTO THE BREACH FOR CATHOLIC MEN

ARE YOU BEING CALLED TO ADOPT?
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Logo Meaning:  At the center of the logo is the Diocese of Evansville crest.  In the upper left corner, we see the symbol of marriage and the family.  The infant is highlighted to symbolize life and the other three quadrants incorporate symbols of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph...the Holy Family.