In 1939 four young couples approached their parish priest, Father Henri Caffarel, and asked his help in exploring the richness and joy of their Sacrament of Matrimony. From these simple beginnings TEAMS has grown to a worldwide movement, present on all continents of the world and involving over 3,000 couples in the United States. The formal charter for the Movement was adopted on December 8, 1947. It is recognized by the
Holy See as an Association of Faithful of Private Right under the Pontifical Council for Laity. The Movement is guided by an International Responsible Team in concert with a College of Super-Regional Couples who serve their various countries.
Since its beginning the purpose of the Movement has remained the same: to help each couple discover, in and through their sacrament of Matrimony, the riches and joy of married love as a part of God's plan and a path to holiness.
In May 1970 Pope Paul VI addresses the International Congress of Teams of Our Lady. The address is called "Love, Marriage and the Church."
"The union of man and woman …constitutes a singular reality that is the couple, founded on the mutual gift of the one to the other …" (Art 5) … the gift is not a fusion, strictly speaking …. Love is, in fact, the cement that gives solidarity to this community life, and the driving spirit which leads it to ever more perfect fulfillment." (Art 6)
In January 2003 Pope John Paul II held a private audience with the International Leadership Couples gather in Rome, urging their continued work with married spirituality.