By Christina Hermoso
The Roman Catholic Church highlights on December 29, the importance of the family as the basic unit of society as it marks the Feast of the Holy Family Sunday with the Holy Family – Saint Joseph, the Blessed Mother, and Jesus - as the model for all Christian families and domestic life in general.
During a mass in Baclaran Church (Jun Ryan Arañas / Manila Bulletin File Photo)
The Church instituted the feast “to help counter the breakdown of the family unit. The feast serves as a reminder for all family members of the importance of staying together through thick and thin, and doing things that strengthen their relationship like spending time together, hearing mass together, reading the Sacred Scriptures regularly, praying daily as a family, and imitating the virtues of the Holy Family,” Church leaders said.
During the Synod on the Family at the Vatican in 2016, the Holy Father Pope Francis highlighted the importance of the family as he cited its significant role in spreading the Word of God.
Traditionally observed on the first Sunday after Christmas, Pope Leo XIII initiated the observance of the feast in 1893. Pope Benedict XV extended the feast to the Universal Church in 1921. Several religious congregations and schools were founded under this title.