The Holy Family Initiative

The Heart of the Family video series is part of the Holy Family Initiative at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, and it is made possible through the generosity of a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The purpose of the Holy Family Initiative is to repropose the Holy Family of Nazareth—the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Jesus Christ—as the foundation for a catechetical renewal within the growing Hispanic Catholic community in the United States and within all Catholic families. This initiative is attentive to the diverse cultural and religious needs and experiences of multigenerational immigrant families, proposing methodologies of affiliation to the Catholic faith responsive to those realities, and equipping parents with tools, skills, and attitudes of exemplary Christian parenting.

Our Partnering Arch/Dioceses and Collaborators

Over the last four years, we have piloted family sessions in four different dioceses in the United States. We are eternally grateful to the volunteers and leaders of the following dioceses and parishes for opening their doors:

• The Archdiocese of San Antonio, TX: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in San Antonio.
• The Diocese of Raleigh, NC: St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cary, and St. Stephen First Martyr in Sanford.
• The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN: St. Dominic Chuch in Bremen, and Our Lady of Hungary in South Bend.
• The Diocese of San Jose, CA: Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and Our Lady of Refuge Church in San Jose.

The videos in this program are adaptations of such family sessions.

We are also grateful to the faculty and staff at the McGrath Insitute for Church Life who drafted and presented several of these sessions, and to the many young adult graduates of the University of Notre Dame’s Theology Department who agreed to record these videos.

• Leonard DeLorenzo, Ph.D., Professor of the Practice, Theology, University of Notre Dame
• Joshua McManaway, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Practice, Theology, University of Notre Dame
• Timothy Matovina, Ph.D., Professor, Theology, University of Notre Dame
• Katherine Angulo Valenzuela, M.A., Director, Pastoral Enrichment Programs, McGrath Institute for Church Life
• Colleen Moore, M.Div., Associate Director, McGrath Institute for Church Life
• Beth Hlabse, M.S., LMHCA, Program Director, Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health, McGrath Institute for Church Life
• Esther Terry, MTS, Program Director, Hispanic Ministry Office, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
• Fr. Felipe Compos, C.S.C, M.Div., Associate Pastor, Sts. Adalbert and Casimir Church, South Bend
• Julia King, M.Div., Associate Director, Notre Dame Vision, McGrath Institute for Church Life
• Austin Cruz, Doctoral Candidate, Dogmatic Theology, University of Notre Dame
• Juan Miguel Alvarez, M.Div., Program Director, Haciendo Caminos, University of Notre Dame
• Marlyn Batista, Rector, Cavanaugh Hall, University of Notre Dame
• Alejandro Corona, Ph.D., Psychologist
• Diana Salgado Huicochea, M.A., Associate Director, Echo, McGrath Institute for Church Life
• Edith Torres Monzón, M.A., Program Director, Thriving in Ministry, McGrath Institute for Church Life