Natural Family Planning Week
July 20- 26, 2025
Pursue a lasting love ...
MARRIAGE
Create hope for the future!
Natural Family Planning
Supporting God's gifts of love and life in marriage
For more information on our Diocesan website click here
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Letter from Bishop Barbarito
Click here to download in English, Spanish or Creole
July 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week is an annual, national educational campaign sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to raise awareness and celebrate God’s design for married love and the gift of life. The USCCB document Married Love and the Gift of Life clarifies how NFP supports Catholic beliefs about married love because it “respects the God-given power to love a new human life into being.” Modern NFP, based on scientific methods, enables couples to participate in God’s creative action while addressing their human need to plan their families while avoiding the devastating spiritual and physical harm caused by artificial contraceptive methods.
This year NFP Awareness Week is being observed from July 20 through July 26 with the theme: Pursue a lasting love… Marriage. Create hope for the future! Natural Family Planning, Supporting God’s gifts of love and life in marriage. During this weeklong celebration, we highlight the anniversary of Humanae Vitae (July 25) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. In addition, we observe the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother and grandparents of Jesus.
As always, but especially during NFP Awareness Week, I would like to congratulate those married couples who live out their marriage commitment to free, total, faithful, and fruitful love. I encourage all married couples and those preparing for marriage to reflect on their current or future marriages and how they can authentically and responsibly fulfill their commitment to fruitful love. If you have not yet considered NFP or have questions, I encourage you to investigate and discover the richness of NFP. Please visit our website at www.diocesepb.org/naturalfamilyplanning for resources and additional information or call 561-775-9557.
With every prayerful wish, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
Bishop of Palm Beach
Celebrate and reverence God's vision of human sexuality
Natural Family Planning Awareness Week is a national educational campaign. The Natural Family Planning Program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops develops a poster each year with basic supportive materials. It is the individual dioceses, however, that offer a variety of educational formats in the local church to focus attention on Natural Family Planning methods and Church teachings that support their use in marriage.
The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. The dates also mark the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother. This feast was designated as World Grandparents Day, a fitting commemoration during National NFP Awareness Week! For further information, contact nfp@usccb.org.
