Rome Catholic Congress Focuses on Fertility and Infertility

An international Catholic congress titled “The Splendor of the Human: safeguarding fertility, treating infertility” will be held in Rome from 16 to 18 October 2026 at the Auditorium of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. The three‑day program includes high‑level scientific panels, interdisciplinary discussions and religious ceremonies. The opening mass will be presided over by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, followed by an audience granted by the Pope in the Vatican, and the congress will officially begin with a prologue by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State.

The event is organized jointly by the ISI‑Paolo VI Institute, the university, the Toniolo Institute, the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS foundation and several other Catholic and bioethical bodies. It commemorates the 25th anniversary of the International Scientific Institute Paolo VI on fertility research and the 50th anniversary of the Centre for Natural Fertility Regulation.

The congress is framed by the recent papal encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas”, which calls the Church to examine its own social doctrine, transparency and sinodality. Commentators note that the encyclical urges the Church to internalize the principles of social teaching, questioning how fully they are lived within ecclesial structures.