Where and how did CFC begin?
CFC began in 1981 in Manila, Philippines, when Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (Joy in the Lord), a covenanted Christian charismatic community, realized that to effectively renew society, a conversion of both spouses, and consequently families, to Christ was necessary.
The method used consisted of bringing together a small group of prospective couples in a private home. There they were brought to a living relationship with Jesus Christ and to renewal in the power of the Holy Spirit through a series of weekly informal discussions of the gospel in a social environment.
Soon, CFC became a Christian family life renewal program made available to parishes and groups of married couples who wished to live out their Christian life in an active supportive relationship with one another. It grows mainly through the establishment of localized units in different parishes.
CFC is recognized by the Vatican as a private institution of the faithful, the decree having first been formally signed in March 2000, and is represented on the Pontifical Council for the Family. On the feast of St. Mark, 25th April 2005, the Vatican through its Pontifical Council for the laity granted definitive approval of the statutes of CFC, thereby confirming permanent recognition of CFC as a private international association of the faithful, with juridical personality, according to canons 298-311 and 321-329 of the Code of Canon Law. In March 2005, CFC was officially registered as a society in Singapore.