The Teams of Our Lady movement is celebrating its 70th anniversary in Canada, marking seven decades of accompanying couples on their journey toward holiness through the Sacrament of Marriage
Teams of Our Lady is an international lay movement in the Catholic Church, designed to enrich married spirituality and make good marriages better. Teams provide a disciplined method of increasing and improving prayer life, which will help couples – and families – grow closer to God and each other.
On August 22, couples and spiritual counsellors from across Canada gathered at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal to celebrate this important milestone. They were honoured by the presence of Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer and Alberto Pérez, the International Responsible Couple of the movement.
Earlier in the year, the Teams of Our Lady Movement in Edmonton celebrated its 25th anniversary with a Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Paul Terrio of St. Paul and concelebrated by Spiritual Counsellors Fr. Augusto Garcia (International Responsible Team and Canada West Spiritual Counsellor), Fr. Patrick Baska (rector of St. Joseph’s Basilica), and Father Marcio da Costa (pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish).
These anniversaries celebrate more than the passage of time. They bear witness to the enduring importance of marriage and family life in the Church and to the grace of accompanying couples as they grow together in faith.
This mission resonates particularly with the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton’s Pastoral Priorities which emphasize Worship, Witness, and Service. Among these priorities is Formation for Service to Families and Marriage, which calls the Church to accompany families and recognize the central place of marriage in God’s plan.
Teams of Our Lady offers a concrete expression of this pastoral vision by helping married couples discover and deepen the spiritual riches of their sacrament. Through shared prayer, reflection, and mutual support, couples are encouraged to welcome Christ more fully into their marriages and family lives, becoming witnesses to the Gospel in their homes, parishes, and communities.
Teams of Our Lady is an international movement of Christian marriage spirituality that brings together couples united by the Sacrament of Matrimony who wish to deepen the graces of their sacrament and grow together in faith. As Father Henri Caffarel, the movement’s founder, expressed it: “Teams of Our Lady have as their essential aim, to help couples strive after holiness—no more, no less.”
The movement began in Paris, France, in 1938, when a young couple approached their parish priest, Father Henri Caffarel, seeking a Church-based program to support and foster holiness within the Sacrament of Marriage. On February 25, 1939, the couple and three other couples met with Father Caffarel, giving birth to the first team. Through prayer, reflection, and the inspiration of Father Caffarel, a common method gradually developed to help couples live their love more deeply in Christ.
The movement’s spirituality also reflects the Archdiocese’s priorities of Eucharistic Worship and Confident Witness. Rooted in the life of faith and nourished by prayer, couples are invited to deepen their relationship with Christ and share the Good News through their vocation to married life. By living their sacramental commitment with generosity, fidelity, and love, they offer a witness to the beauty of Christian marriage and help strengthen family life in the wider community.
Today, the movement continues to flourish around the world, bringing together 74,635 couples and 10,344 Spiritual Counsellors and Spiritual Advisors. In Canada, it includes 411 couples and 66 Spiritual Counsellors and Spiritual Advisors. These communities embody a shared commitment to helping married couples grow in holiness while supporting one another in the joys and challenges of family life.
As Teams of Our Lady celebrates its 70th anniversary in Canada and 25 years in Edmonton, these milestones invite renewed gratitude for the couples, priests, and spiritual guides who have sustained the movement. They also point toward the future: continuing to accompany married couples, strengthen families, and foster a culture in which the sacramental vocation of marriage is cherished and supported. In this way, Teams of Our Lady contributes to the Church’s mission of worship, witness, and service, helping couples live their vocation as a path to holiness.
For more information about Teams of Our Lady, contact Carlos Urdaneta at canada.west@teamsofourlady.ca
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