Pope Leo XIV urges education in chastity from childhood in Amoris laetitia message
Unable to attend after recent lung surgery, the pope had his homily read by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at the closing Mass of a Vatican meeting on October 14, 2026, marking 10 years since Amoris laetitia
Pope Leo XIV called on the Church to prepare young people for marriage from childhood, with particular attention to education in chastity and to building an atmosphere of love and charity at home. His message was read by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at the closing Mass of the meeting "Ten Years of Amoris laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel with Families Today," held at the Vatican on October 14, 2026. The gathering marked the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation and brought together bishops from bishops' conferences around the world.
Lung surgery kept Leo XIV from presiding at the Mass, but he had prepared a homily that treats education in the virtues as the foundation of married love. In it, he said "true love" requires forming young people in the virtues, with chastity holding a prominent place in that process. The text presents chastity not as repression but as formation for freedom and for a definitive commitment.
Tagle, who recently became dean of the College of Cardinals, said formation programs at the parish level are "commendable" but warned that they "are not enough on their own." They must be preceded and sustained by an education in love that supports children from their earliest years. "Everything a young person experiences in the family should help make him capable of a full and definitive commitment," the pope said in his homily.
'Domestic charity' as the first lesson in love
Leo XIV described "domestic charity" as the first lesson in love, one that takes shape in the daily life of families, often marked by difficulties and mistakes but also by the beauty of what is shared.
The pope thanked families who live their vocation and mission in society with fidelity and at times heroism.
He called on the Church to act as a "family of families," fostering a climate of mutual care that benefits everyone. That includes encouraging young married couples in their married life, supporting parents in raising their children and valuing the elderly as witnesses of wisdom and virtue. Even in difficult situations, "a wounded family can always grow from love," he said.
Family prayer
The pope encouraged families to rediscover praying together and receiving the sacraments, calling them "solid food and healthy medicine" for family life. He lamented that the habit of praying together at home has weakened in many parts of the world, and he called for the practice to be revived as the foundation of the family's spiritual life.
The family and openness to life
Tagle also said the family holds the values of openness to and respect for life, from conception to its natural end. "Without strong families, open to the gift of children, attentive to their education and growth, the world has no future," he said.
The Vatican celebration
The closing Mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod, together with Chaldean Patriarch Polis III Nona, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
