Archbishop Emeritus Samuel Aquila and Windsor Couple Honored for Natural Family Planning Ministry
Couple to Couple League honored the archbishop emeritus and Seth and Elizabeth Timpe for their work advancing Natural Family Planning education, marriage preparation and outreach.
In recognition of their work strengthening families and marriages, Archbishop Emeritus Samuel Aquila and Windsor couple Seth and Elizabeth Timpe recently received awards from Couple to Couple League International (CCL), a Catholic marriage and family ministry.
The organization, which has spent more than 55 years providing Natural Family Planning (NFP) education and support to couples, honored Archbishop Emeritus Aquila for his pastoral leadership in Catholic marriage formation and the Timpes for their decade of service teaching and accompanying couples.
The awards recognize two complementary aspects of CCL’s mission: equipping couples to understand fertility within the larger vocation of marriage and preparing clergy, instructors and families to support that mission.
Archbishop Emeritus Aquila was honored with the Father Richard M. Hogan Award, “recognizing his longstanding commitment to Natural Family Planning (NFP) education, his leadership in Catholic marriage formation, and his efforts to help couples understand fertility within the Church's vision of marriage and family life,” CCL said.
His commitment to NFP education has spanned decades and dioceses. In 2006, while serving as Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota, he became one of the first U.S. bishops to require engaged couples to complete a full NFP course as part of marriage preparation. Later, as Archbishop of Denver, he presented the Church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality and fertility in his 2018 pastoral letter, The Splendor of Love.
"Archbishop Aquila has helped generations of couples encounter Natural Family Planning as part of the Church's beautiful vision for marriage," said Katie Zulanas, CCL’s executive director. "His leadership demonstrates that sound fertility education and meaningful pastoral formation belong together. By preparing clergy, encouraging instructors and helping couples understand the deeper purpose of NFP, he has strengthened the relationships and communities through which this ministry continues to grow."
“I’m honored to receive the Father Hogan Award from Couple to Couple League,” Archbishop Emeritus Aquila told the Denver Catholic. “Throughout my 50 years as a priest and 25 years as a bishop, I’ve been inspired by countless dedicated married couples striving to live the Gospel in and through their families. Couple to Couple League has helped couples preparing for marriage understand Catholic teaching on marriage and how to live it faithfully. I have seen hearts change and the lens through which they view marriage shift from the world's to the Gospel's. It has been a privilege to serve them and walk with them towards Jesus Christ. I am grateful!”
Seth and Elizabeth Timpe were honored with the Kippley Award, “recognizing their exceptional service as a teaching couple and their dedication to extending NFP education and personal accompaniment to couples and families,” the organization said.
The couple learned about NFP while preparing for marriage in 2012 and quickly saw its value beyond family planning. Their experience with NFP helped Elizabeth recognize changes in her health that eventually led to an early diagnosis of thyroid cancer. After treatment, the couple continued using NFP as they welcomed and spaced the births of their four children.
Inspired by their experience, the Timpes became certified NFP instructors in 2016 and have taught couples locally and online, supported marriage preparation and parish ministry, and helped develop CCL’s Natural Plan course.
"Seth and Elizabeth exemplify the couple-to-couple ministry that John and Sheila Kippley envisioned when they founded CCL," Zulanas said. "They have taken their own experience and turned it into years of generous service, helping couples understand fertility while accompanying them through marriage preparation and family life. Their willingness to teach, collaborate, and serve wherever needed is a wonderful example of carrying CCL's mission forward."
“We are humbled and honored to receive this award from CCL,” Seth and Elizabeth Timpe shared. “Teaching NFP has been part of our marriage since the beginning. We are incredibly passionate about marriage ministry and giving back to the Church in this way.”
Together, the two awards highlight CCL’s mission of accompanying couples and families throughout their marriages. More than just another class, NFP education and accompaniment can become an opportunity to strengthen marriages and families for generations, the organization said.
“Through their teaching, parish outreach, and contributions to educational resources, Seth and Elizabeth continue the Kippleys' founding vision of couples accompanying couples, marriage to marriage and generation to generation,” the organization concluded.
