Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family will be published on April 8, and will be called Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the Vatican announced today.

Amoris Laetitia will summarise the recent synod on the family and family life and provide guidance on pastoral issues that were discussed.

The exhortation, subtitled "On Love in the Family", is a "post-synodal apostolic exhortation" and is addressed to the Church.

The document will summarise all that the synod said, Pope Francis told reporters on the plane from Mexico to Rome in late February.

The text, reportedly 200 pages long, will be presented by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, at a press conference on Friday April 8 at 11:30 am.

The panel will also include a married couple from Italy: Professor Francesco Miano, lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome and Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Miano, lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples.

The press conference can be seen via live streaming here.

Today, the Vatican has also announced Pope Francis' prayer intentions for the month of April.

The Pope's universal intention is "that small farmers may receive a just reward for their precious labor."

He also hopes "that Christians in Africa may give witness to love and faith in Jesus Christ amid political-religious conflicts."