Lito and Edith Urgino, parishioners of St. Louis Church in
Alexandria, are on a mission to strengthen Catholic families
around the country. In 2002, they were founding members of
Families in Christ Jesus, a ministry that started at St.
Louis and has since grown into a national organization
spanning 11 states.
“Our guiding motto is: ‘Families bringing families to
Christ,'” Edith said.
Or, as the ministry’s website states, “We commit ourselves
and all our resources to witness to individuals and to other
families the Gospel. We witness to the indissolubility of the
sacrament of marriage. We witness to the right and
responsibility of parents to mold and educate their children
into mature, whole, and God-centered individuals. We witness
to the sacred duty of children to obey the Lord’s command to
honor and respect their parents as to the Lord.”
In the Arlington Diocese, there are 400 member families, from
seven parishes, involved in Families in Christ Jesus. The
members meet twice a month in small groups of five to seven
families, where they study formation materials that stress
the importance of confession and eucharistic adoration. They
are encouraged to read the Scriptures daily, to pray with
their loved ones, and to share their time, talents and
treasure within their parishes and local community.
Throughout the year, members also participate in couple
retreats and larger gatherings for the whole family like the
National Prayer Gathering, which will take place this year
Oct. 6 at St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax. The purpose of
all this is to keep the bonds within a family strong and
focused on God.
“Even if they believe in the marriage very strongly in the
beginning, the relationship begins to weaken,” Edith said.
“This provides a regular follow-up where they really can
learn more and go deeper into the sacredness of the marriage
itself.”
The hope behind the ministry, the Urginos said, is that
husbands and wives will come to understand the responsibility
they have to foster strong families.
“We were already 23 years married when I attended a Life in
the Spirit seminar,” Lito said. “It was only then when I
realized I had such a huge responsibility for the family.”
Aside from marriage support, Families in Christ Jesus also
provides a youth ministry program, which sends 85 youths to
the Steubenville Youth Conference every year. The group also
plans programs for children, young adults and singles, as
well as family retreats, where all ages are welcome.
In addition to serving as presiding elders for the Arlington
branch, the Urginos are involved as directors of the national
branch. For that job, they spend much of their time
traveling, allowing them only one weekend a month to spend at
home with their own family – nine children and 24
grandchildren.
Fostering the ministry’s growth takes time, but the mission
is one the Urginos are passionate about. They think of
themselves as apostles of Jesus to the family.
“It’s a slow process, but we think we are making a dent,”
Lito said. “There’s no end to that. The cause of the family
is a missionary cause now. The family is really struggling to
remain an institution. Our children, we make them aware that
there is a war going on and that they have to realize it and
be strong.”
