Hundreds of Sydney families have been gifted a rare and lasting encounter with two of the world’s most respected Catholic voices on marriage and family life, Mike and Alicia Hernon, the Ohio-based co-hosts of the enormously popular Messy Family Project podcast.
Between 8 and 12 May, the couple swept through the archdiocese in a whirlwind speaking tour hosted by the Life, Marriage and Family team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, leaving hundreds of parents better equipped, deeply encouraged, and newly inspired to embrace the sacred calling at the heart of their homes.
As parents of ten children, Mike and Alicia brought hard-won practical wisdom and spiritual insight to Sydney families across five events in five days. Their ministry began as a simple podcast in 2015 and grew into a full-time endeavour by November 2018. The Messy Family Project now boasts over two million downloads worldwide, a reach built not on polished perfection, but on disarming honesty.
“We’re not perfect, and that’s where we got the name ‘Messy Family,'” Mike said. “We’re not aiming to reach the families that have it all figured out.”
On 8 and 9 May, the Hernon’s hosted a ‘Marriage and Parenting Renewal Retreat’ at St Peter Chanel and St Joseph’s Parish, Berala. On 12 May, the tour split in two: Alicia addressing mothers at the Following Mary’s Footsteps talk at St Jerome’s Parish, Punchbowl, while Mike spoke at a men’s evening titled ‘What It Means to Be a Father’ at St Luke the Evangelist Parish, Revesby.
The Catholic Weekly attended the ‘Growing Your Family Culture’ event at St Michael’s Parish in Lane Cove on 10 May, where Mike and Alicia outlined the Catholic beliefs and values that bind a family together. With characteristic warmth and candour, they drew out the core pillars of their ministry: that the marital relationship is the foundation of family life; that family culture must be cultivated with intention; and that parents are the irreplaceable primary formers of their children’s faith and character.
“Today we talked about the secret weapon of the Catholic family — how we are going to inoculate our children against the culture of the world,” reflected Alicia. “And that is having a very strong and intentional family culture.”
“Your family culture is an unspoken system in your home that communicates more powerfully than anything you could ever say to an individual child or write down. It’s the way of life in your family and you want it to communicate the values you hold dear, because it’s working on your children all the time.”
Mike was equally direct about the stakes: “We are so convinced that Catholic families are doing the most important work in the Church right now, raising the next generation of Catholics. We want to give them tools and wisdom, walk with them, and offer encouragement. I would like every family to know: what you’re doing is so vitally important.”
The message clearly struck a chord. Claresta Soesanto from Kensington said the talk felt personally directed at her. “I need to prioritise building the culture in my family, building relationships over chores and ticking boxes. They’ve got ten kids and I’m messy with two, so I trust someone who’s been through that.”
Nick Berman, who attended with his wife Christine, was struck by the Hernons’ honesty. “What impressed me most was the acknowledgment that we all go through the same challenges and they have such a refreshing way of looking at it,” he said.
Christine, a mother of eight and a listener for nearly a decade, put it simply: “They are just so practical and give so much hope to families trying to practise the faith and raise children in it. We’re just huge fans.”
Central to the Hernons’ message is the conviction that parents bear irreplaceable responsibility for forming the culture of their home, a counter-cultural proposition that clearly resonated with Sydney audiences navigating the pressures of a secular age.
“The family is under attack more than ever, and it is more than difficult to raise kids in a very secularised culture,” said Alicia. “We need to keep our families healthy and intact — this is where God designed the human person to be formed.”
Speaking to The Catholic Weekly after the Lane Cove event, both Mike and Alicia said they left Sydney deeply encouraged.
“The more families we meet here in Australia, the more hope we have for the Church in the world,” said Mike. “There are so many families saying: we want to make a difference. We want to invest in our marriages and our families. People who take time out of their busy lives to talk about these things, that gives us great hope.”
Reflecting on the tour, Richard Leilua, an officer with the Life, Marriage and Family team at the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, said it was clear the Holy Spirit was at work, through the Hernons and through the participants themselves.
“It was amazing to see how quickly they connected with their audience. Strangers became a community, united around a shared focus on family culture. They created a profound environment in which people were able to connect and be transformed. It was a great privilege to host them,” said Leilua.
Alicia offered a final word that captured the spirit of the entire tour.
“This is the age of the family. Right now, more than ever, it is so vital that we invest in our marriages, strengthen our homes, and bring our children closer to Christ, because our world is in desperate need of families that are fully alive.”
An extended interview with Mike and Alicia Hernon is available on the Grace Abounds podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
