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:

  1. As part of the IRS requirements for a 501(c)(3) and
  2. 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

The Seven Commitments

1

Daily individual prayer

Each spouse finds a daily quiet space to fully enter God’s presence. This calls for each person to develop a personal time and space with God.

2

Daily study of Scripture

In a quiet, separate space, the individual takes advantage of the gift of the living Word of God. There are no particular verses to read and reflect on, just the challenge to dive into Scripture each day and encounter God there.

3

Daily couple prayer

The couple takes time each day to pray together aloud and usually in their own words. There is no length of time or other regulation set on this prayer. The focus is two-fold: to allow your spouse to witness your conversation with God and to offer shared prayers to God as a couple.

4

Daily family prayer

Couples make time each day to lead their family in prayer, if the couple has children in the home. Each family will discover and grow in their own way of praying together in a way that is fruitful for the different stages in their particular family’s life (small children, older children, adult children, etc).

5

Monthly couple dialogue

The monthly couple dialogue is an intentional, prayerful, and structured conversation done under the watchful gaze of God for an extended period of time. The couple thoughtfully considers the spiritual, practical and personal needs of each spouse, of the marriage, of children, and of the family as a whole.

6

Rule of life

Particularly in connection with their monthly dialogues, each couple decides upon specific changes or policies they will put in place in their individual lives, their marriage, and their household that reflect God’s will for them and their efforts to grow in holiness according to His promptings. Some rules of life always remain the same, but others will change and grow with the couple’s discernment and the family’s needs over time.

7

Yearly Domestic Church retreat

Each couple commits to attending a Domestic Church retreat at least once per year. Retreats can be for just the couple or for the entire family. These can be longer retreats or weekend retreats. To learn about the available retreats click here.

The beauty of these commitments is that the movement provides formation, using the Church’s spiritual traditions and official teachings, for how to pray, how to use Scripture in prayer, and how to grow in a real relationship with God, our spouses, and our children in light of our Baptism.