The Abba Our Father movement was born in 1999, the year designated as the Year of the Father by St John Paul II in the lead-up to the great Jubilee of 2000.

It was born in the ardent desire to honor the Father who brought us into being so as to enjoy eternity with him in and through his Son and his Holy Spirit.

The movement initially found expression in the movement for the New Evangelization in conferences and encounters of bishops, clergy, and laity from around the world held under the aegis of NEA, an organization initially led by Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, and then by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, leader of CELAM and later Coordinator of the Council of Cardinals under Pope Francis.

By 2021, under the leadership of Cardinal Maradiaga, these initiatives became more focused on creating a global family of God the Father seeking to honor him through a feast of the Father of the human family while building a global communion of the sons and daughters of Abba our Father.

Thus was born the organization Abba Our Father with Cardinal Maradiaga as Coordinator, Fr. Marco Aurelio and Fr. Joao Paolo as Co-Chairmen, Andres Ruzo as Chief Executive and Bryan Thatcher as President in partnership with the Basilica of the Divine Eternal Father in Brazil and the active participation of Cardinal Charles Bo, then-Chairman of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, and Cardinal Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa of Ethiopia, a seat of ancient Christianity that has celebrated a feast of God the Father for centuries.