French priest Henri Caffarel, founder of Teams of Our Lady, declared venerable by Pope Leo XIV

A married couple that leads the Teams of Our Lady, founded by newly-declared Venerable Father Henri Caffarel, explains how this lay apostolate helps couples grow together in holiness.

Father Henri Caffarel, a French priest whose apostolate centered on accompanying and guiding married couples on the path to holiness, is one step closer to being canonized.

On March 23, Pope Leo XIV recognized the heroic virtues of the newly declared venerable, who maintained that couples are made for happiness and that marriage is a path toward it.

With this deep conviction, and conscious of the challenges faced by couples, Caffarel, who was born in Lyon, France, in 1903, founded the movement for marital spirituality known as “Teams of Our Lady” in Paris in 1939.

The beginning of a living legacy

Spaniards Alberto Pérez Bueno and Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer Lozano, the couple in charge of the Teams of Our Lady internationally, have been married for 35 years and have three children. In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, they said the ministry started “with four couples who approached Father Caffarel to ask him how they could live out their faith as a couple.”

“He didn’t have an answer at that moment, so he proposed that they embark on a journey of discovery together rooted in the sacrament of holy orders and the sacrament of matrimony. And that‘s how it all began,” Alberto explained.

Following World War II, the movement, which is primarily lay-led, grew rapidly; today, it is present in 92 countries and is comprised of more than 15,000 teams.

Marital communication and prayer

Mercedes emphasized that from the very beginning, Caffarel saw the need to foster the essentials of marital communication and prayer, convinced that by sharing their problems with one another, many couples could avoid estrangement that sometimes occurs in marriage.

The priest, Alberto recalled, said that “the sacrament of matrimony is an image of God” and “probably the most perfect one there is.” The priest said married couples are called to holiness through a life of “work, personal growth, love, patience, and building a life together.”

“It‘s not an overnight process but rather a journey undertaken over the course of a lifetime. Father Caffarel invited couples to embark on this path and to attain holiness through their work and their life together,” Alberto emphasized.

Mercedes said the priest thought of marriage as a sign “that reflects the love of God” because the relationship of communion that exists between spouses is analogous to the relationship existing among the three Divine Persons: Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

In the priest’s view, the image of marriage allowed for a clearer expression of the idea of ​​a God who is love “and who communicates and expands within his own nature.” From this perspective, “holiness ceases to be understood as a matter of individual effort or moral perfection and is situated instead within the dynamic of love that transforms and animates life,” Mercedes explained.

A continuous path of spiritual growth

The organization of the Teams of Our Lady is based on a specific methodology “that goes beyond monthly meetings,” encompassing prayer, dialogue, and personal commitment. Each team consists of five or six married couples, fostering “listening to the word, personal prayer, prayer as a couple and family prayer, and a profound dialogue in the presence of the Lord that we also have every month,” Mercedes explained.

Ultimately, it is a matter of “having a rule of life, a set of elements through which you strive to improve your Christian life,” she said. There is also a yearly retreat and a specific study theme each month.

Alberto emphasized that the Teams of Our Lady are, in a sense, “precursors of the synodality” promoted by Pope Francis. “It’s a movement that is very nonclerical — though, it must be said, the accompaniment of married couples by priests is essential.”

He also noted that “married couples place their time, their skills, their charisms, and their gifts at the service of others in order to build community.”

Mercedes, who had the opportunity to meet the now-venerable, recalled that in 1973 he stepped aside after founding the teams, convinced that “if it was a work of the Holy Spirit and possessed a charism for the Church, there was no need for him to stay on.”

Leaving the ministry in the laity’s hands, he retired to a house of prayer on the outskirts of Paris, where he began his other “great work”: teaching people how to pray. Mercedes noted that “one of the things he desired most was to teach people how to draw closer to Christ and to serve as an intermediary so that every person could have a personal encounter with God.”

The challenges facing married couples today

Alberto and Mercedes explained how married couples today confront new challenges stemming from the pace of life, particularly the “massive entry of women into the workforce,” which has brought different challenges, such as “finding time to be together and talk.”

They highlighted Caffarel’s enduring counsel: “Seek out these moments; don’t let them slip away,” for life “sweeps us along like a fast-moving river.

They also highlighted the movement’s impact in countries such as Lithuania, with a past marked by communist repression, or in African nations where the teams foster equality, participation, and changes such as abandoning polygamy. This is also true in Europe, where the Teams of Our Lady help strengthen families within increasingly secularized societies.

Both highlight the universal impact of the movement: Couples from diverse cultures agree on the benefits received, particularly the “opportunity to pray together” and the realization of “how difficult it would have been without the presence of Christ in their married life.” Ultimately, this is a way of life that responds to a profound desire: Even as sacramental marriages decline, “there is no diminishing of people’s desire to live as a couple.”

Mercedes also warned of a growing way of dealing with problems: “At the slightest setback, people are right off tempted to give up,” and the couple is not taught how to “persevere and forgive.” Added to this is “a great fear of commitment” and a tendency to avoid lasting bonds or communities despite the fact that, deep down, people “want to be happy and want to stay together.”

For this reason, she emphasized the importance of mutual support and community life: “It‘s fundamental to allow oneself to be helped,” since in her view navigating married life in isolation “is extremely complex.”

The teams offer precisely the necessary tools and support: a setting where married couples share their problems and solutions. Drawing upon their own experiences, they particularly encourage young couples to embark on this path of holiness.

Both expressed their joy that Caffarel has been declared venerable, a long-awaited recognition following nearly 20 years of going through the beatification process, which continues, awaiting a miracle wrought through his intercession.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.