About Domestic Church
What is the Domestic Church Movement?
Domestic Church is a lay movement for married couples that provides Catholic Christian community and lifelong spiritual formation through small groups and retreats.
The movement was founded in Poland in 1973 by Venerable Fr. Franciszek Blachnicki (pronounced Fron-SHE-shek Block-NEET-skee), with the close guidance and support of his friend and local bishop, Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope St. John Paul II).
Today, there are more than 13,000 couples in Domestic Church in Poland, and nearly 5,000 more Domestic Church couples around the world.
"Domestic Church was truly an answer to prayer for my family! I knew my husband and I, as well as my family as a whole, were not living out in the moment-to-moment and day-to-day of our lives the riches God had for us. We needed support and a tool to get us there; to more fully live in God's will. DC has been that living breathing tool; communicating scripture and the teachings of the church beautifully and in an applicable way. It also formed a space for fellowship and honest communication with others striving for the same. Our family has come so far in just four years, and we are truly grateful for the gift Domestic Church has been and continues to be for us!"
Born out of the larger movement called the Light-Life movement, the Domestic Church was created by Fr. Blachnicki in 1973. The Light-Life movement provided the youth of Communist-occupied Poland with formation and community in their Catholic faith. As young people married and started having children, Fr. Blachnicki saw a need for a family branch of the Light-Life movement that was tailored to the specific needs that arise in marriage and family life.
Fr. Blachnicki combined the formation of the Light-Life movement with the plan of Christian formation (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, OCIA) document. Its small group format is structured after the Equipes de Notre Dame (Teams of Our Lady), a French movement for married couples. He also incorporated the Light-Life Movement emphasis on retreats into the newly formed marriage and family movement.
The first English-speaking Domestic Church retreat in the United States was held in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2011. There were 13 couples on that first retreat, which was facilitated by a priest and a couple from Poland. Since then, Domestic Church has grown to over 500 couples in 15 dioceses in the United States.
What is the Domestic Church Movement?
Domestic Church is a lay movement for married couples that provides Catholic Christian community and lifelong spiritual formation through small groups and retreats.
The movement was founded in Poland in 1973 by Venerable Fr. Franciszek Blachnicki (pronounced Fron-SHE-shek Block-NEET-skee), with the close guidance and support of his friend and local bishop, Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope St. John Paul II).
Today, there are more than 13,000 couples in Domestic Church in Poland, and nearly 5,000 more Domestic Church couples around the world.
"Domestic Church was truly an answer to prayer for my family! I knew my husband and I, as well as my family as a whole, were not living out in the moment-to-moment and day-to-day of our lives the riches God had for us. We needed support and a tool to get us there; to more fully live in God's will. DC has been that living breathing tool; communicating scripture and the teachings of the church beautifully and in an applicable way. It also formed a space for fellowship and honest communication with others striving for the same. Our family has come so far in just four years, and we are truly grateful for the gift Domestic Church has been and continues to be for us!"
How did Domestic Church begin?
Born out of the larger movement called the Light-Life movement, the Domestic Church was created by Fr. Blachnicki in 1973. The Light-Life movement provided the youth of Communist-occupied Poland with formation and community in their Catholic faith. As young people married and started having children, Fr. Blachnicki saw a need for a family branch of the Light-Life movement that was tailored to the specific needs that arise in marriage and family life.
Fr. Blachnicki combined the formation of the Light-Life movement with the plan of Christian formation (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, OCIA) document. Its small group format is structured after the Equipes de Notre Dame (Teams of Our Lady), a French movement for married couples. He also incorporated the Light-Life Movement emphasis on retreats into the newly formed marriage and family movement.
When did Domestic Church come to the United States?
The first English-speaking Domestic Church retreat in the United States was held in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2011. There were 13 couples on that first retreat, which was facilitated by a priest and a couple from Poland. Since then, Domestic Church has grown to over 500 couples in 15 dioceses in the United States.
Grow in your faith—together with your spouse.
The name “Domestic Church” comes from a passage in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that beautifully states,
“in our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the ecclesia domestica [the domestic church]”
Couples find Domestic Church deeply enriches each spouse’s personal faith journey while nurturing the couple’s spiritual life together. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “so goes the family, so goes the world.”
“[...] believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith [...]”
Domestic Church offers sacramentally married couples the vital support they need to grow in unity, to pass on their faith to their children, and to navigate authentic Catholic living in a world increasingly hostile to faith. The habits of prayer and healthy communication that couples in Domestic Church develop in the life of their marriage are both the goal and the means to the goal.
Domestic Church is not another program for marriages, but rather a movement that accompanies everyday Catholic couples of all ages through the lifetime of their Sacrament. This movement takes its place alongside many others that God has raised up to serve the diverse needs of Catholic marriages and families in our time.
Domestic Church Formation (The Seven Commitments)
Beginning the journey into the Domestic Church movement is a multi-year process of spiritual growth for a couple together. Below is the progression of entering the movement.
Evangelization Retreat
Each couple in Domestic Church starts by attending an Evangelization Retreat, which allows them to experience the Good News in a new and deeper way and provides a real experience of the saving power of Christ as a couple. After the retreat, the couple has an opportunity to join a circle of 3-6 other couples and a priest.
Join a Circle
Each circle meets once a month in the homes of its members to share the joys and sorrows of the journey, pray together, share their progress in spiritual growth according to the seven commitments, and to study the new formation materials for the month.
The Seven Commitments
Domestic Church couples and families strive to practice the Seven Commitments in order to grow in their relationship with God and one another. The commitments are basic principles of spiritual growth in the Catholic tradition specific to the vocation of marriage. Each couple practices the seven commitments in order to grow in their spiritual life according to their particular needs.
Domestic Church Membership
After joining a circle, a couple has ten months to decide if they will commit to continued formation, and another three years before they enter into permanent Domestic Church formation. This process was designed to follow the Church’s vision of Catechesis for Adults.
Locations & National Structure
Domestic Church United States currently operates in 15 dioceses across the United States.
Click on a location for diocesan contact information.
National Structure
“I have been a part of the Domestic Church as a Chaplain for the last 4 months. It has given me an incredible opportunity to walk with couples who really want to be with our Lord and are striving to do so in the best way possible. It has been such a privilege to be a chaplain and I would encourage all priests to consider taking part in the Domestic Church"
Board of Directors
Unique to the Domestic Church serving the English-speaking community in the United States is the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has been created for two reasons:
- As part of the IRS requirements for a 501(c)(3) and
- To better provide for the organization’s day-to-day operations*
*Taken from the Domestic Church By-laws, filed 2023
2024 Board of Directors
Michael and Erin Franco
National Couple
Blaine and Denise Wyninger
National Couple Emeritus
Fr. Brent Maher
National Chaplain
Brian Moscona
Treasurer
Diocese of Lafayette
Jessica Kelty
Secretary/Archivist
Members At-Large:
Jeff Heinzen
Steve Vorisek
The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of the Diocese of Lake Charles, LA, is our Ecclesial Moderator.
National Circle
Michael and Erin Franco
National Couple, United States
Co -Presidents, DC Board of Directors
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Bill and Iza Nagle
USCCB Region 1
Diocese of Bridgeport
Shaun and Catherine Germain
USCCB Region 4
Diocese of Richmond
Casey and Dr. Jill Fruge
USCCB Region 5
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Dan and Christy Kitzhaber
USCCB Region 7
Diocese of La Crosse
Dino and Cathy Durando
USCCB Region 9
Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph
Jason and Katie Zimdars
USCCB Region 10
Diocese of Oklahoma City
Dr. Patrick and Jessica Kelty
USCCB Region 14
Diocese of Charlotte
James and Heidi Michiels
New Diocese Diakonia
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Bethany Robicheaux
Communications Diakonia
Diocese of Baton Rouge
B.J. Billeaudeau
Materials Diakonia
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Blaine and Denise Wyninger
Past National Couple (DC Board of Directors)
Past National Couple (National Circle)
Diocese of Lake Charles
Rev. Brent Maher
National Chaplain
Diocese of Baton Rouge
