- Feb 5, 2002
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(OSV News) — Ahead of national and international celebrations of matrimony, Bishop Robert E. Barron said that marriage is “a source of hope for all generations.”
Bishop Barron, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, shared his thoughts in a Feb. 6 statement released by the USCCB ahead of National Marriage Week USA (Feb. 7-14) and World Marriage Day (commemorated on the second Sunday in February, which falls this year on Feb. 9).
National Marriage Week was launched in 1996 in the United Kingdom by Richard Kane, then director of the national charity Marriage Resource, and his wife, Maria Kane. The observance was adopted in the U.S. in 2002, led by Brent Barlow and Diane Sollee of Smart Marriages, and expanded through the participation of faith communities and marriage advocates.
World Marriage Day was launched in 1981 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by couples participating in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, an international faith-based marriage enrichment ministry founded in 1968 and inspired by Spanish priest Father Gabriel Calvo.
This year’s theme for National Marriage Week is “Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!” — a motif highlighting the Jubilee Year’s focus on the virtue of hope, said the USCCB statement.
Continued below.
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Bishop Barron, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, shared his thoughts in a Feb. 6 statement released by the USCCB ahead of National Marriage Week USA (Feb. 7-14) and World Marriage Day (commemorated on the second Sunday in February, which falls this year on Feb. 9).
National Marriage Week was launched in 1996 in the United Kingdom by Richard Kane, then director of the national charity Marriage Resource, and his wife, Maria Kane. The observance was adopted in the U.S. in 2002, led by Brent Barlow and Diane Sollee of Smart Marriages, and expanded through the participation of faith communities and marriage advocates.
World Marriage Day was launched in 1981 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by couples participating in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, an international faith-based marriage enrichment ministry founded in 1968 and inspired by Spanish priest Father Gabriel Calvo.
This year’s theme for National Marriage Week is “Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!” — a motif highlighting the Jubilee Year’s focus on the virtue of hope, said the USCCB statement.
A reminder to couples of ‘their commitment’
Continued below.

Marriage is 'a source of hope' and 'antidote to loneliness'
Bishop Robert E. Barron calls marriage a "source of hope" ahead of National Marriage Week, highlighting its role in fostering lasting love.
