As the Cana and Pre-Cana Movements were sweeping through the United States in 1952, interested priests and laity formed a volunteer board to formulate and guide the future development of these marriage enrichment and preparation movements in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
In 1962, the Apostolic Administrator John Patrick Cody incorporated all of the marriage and parenting work being done by volunteer couples and priests of the Archdiocese into the Family Life Bureau. Its overall purpose was "the complete welfare of families."
In 1970, the Family Life Apostolate Board, realizing the rapid growth of family-oriented work, asked Archbishop Philip M. Hannan to hire the first full-time lay director. During that decade the work of the Family Life Apostolate extended to include ministry to separated and divorced Catholics.
The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops proclaimed the decade of the 1980's as "The Decade of the Family." That national commitment gave an increased impetus to the work of family ministry in the Archdiocese: Natural Family Planning was moved under Family Life Apostolate in the early 1980's; peer ministries among specific types of families were encouraged; parish-based family ministries were strongly promoted, and ministry to persons with disabilities was initiated.
The 1990's brought A Family Perspective in Church and Society and the International Year of the Family. FLA increased its efforts to bring to every church ministry, on the parish and the diocesan levels, an increased sensitivity to families. Strengthening family relationships in diverse family situations became a strong focus in a all programs.
Entering the third millennium, Family Life Apostolate faces the challenge of enabling both the institutional and the domestic church to understand that family is the basic unit of the Church, and is called into full partnership with the larger church.
Primarily due to the commitment of many volunteers, Family Life Apostolate currently provides services to parish leaders, engaged couples, married couples, singles, divorced, widowed, remarried, newly married, those in hurting marriage, those who are disabled, parents and families.
The Family Life Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, staff and volunteers, recognizes that family relationships reflect the essence of our relationship with God. We proclaim that families daily live the Paschal Mystery in the inevitable transitions of family life. We strive to be a partner in mutual relationship with the parish churches we are called to serve, and with other diocesan structures.
Family Life Apostolate, working under the authority of the Archbishop and in conjunction with other diocesan offices, is committed to:
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Uphold the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church regarding families.
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Uplift the holiness of Christian marriage and family.
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Provide programs and resources which support the many kinds of families in the Archdiocese.
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Challenge church leaders to consider the impact of every church ministry on family life.
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Enable parish and family members to nurture and heal one another.
"All members of the family, each according to his or her own gift, have the grace and responsibility of building day by day the communion of persons, making the family 'a school of deeper humanity:' This happens where there is care and love for the little ones, the sick, the aged; where there is mutual service every day; when there is a sharing of goods, of joys and sorrows."
On the Family, Apostolic Exhortation - Pope John Paul II, 1981
