Global Synod

The Catholic Church is in the midst of a three-year global Synod. What does that mean? The word "Synod" comes from two Greek words that mean "with" and "journey" - so a synod is a shared journey of the People of God.

You may have read in past communications from the Church of St. Timothy or the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that the Archdiocese recently completed a three-year synodal process in the Archdiocese, as well. That Synod involved three years of listening, preparation, and engagement with laity, consecrated women and men, and clergy across the archdiocese. To read about the Archdiocesan Synod and to view Archbishop Hebda's pastoral letter, click here. 

On the global Church level, Pope Francis convened a three year Synod called a Synod on Synodality with the themes of communion, participation, and mission. While past Synods have particular focus areas - the Amazon, the family, youth and young people - this Synod is about how the whole People of God live out our identity as disciples of Jesus, radiating communion, sharing co-responsibility in mission, and embracing structures of governance that strengthen a missionary synodal Church. 

The Synod began on October 9, 2021 in Rome, and the first stage of the process was to carry out a consultation with Catholics around the world - perhaps the largest consultation in human history! The fruits of the consultation were collected at the diocesan level and then shared with bishops' conferences. Then a synthesis was drafted and shared with the General Secretariat of the Synod. 

A team gathered in 2022 to read and review all of these syntheses and created the Working Document for the Continental Stage (also known by the title, Enlarge the Space of Your Tent) that was published in October 2022. To read that document that is the synthesis of this massive listening effort, click here. 

The next step in the process was the continental stage of the Synod. In February and March 2023, seven continental assemblies took place, bringing together bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and the laity to reflect on the questions raised in the Working Document for the Continental Stage. The culmination of the continental stage was the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris, a series of fifteen worksheets that will guide the October 2023 Synod meeting in Rome.  To view that document, click here. 

In October 2023, the Synodal assembly with gather in Rome. For the first time in Church history, not just bishops but also lay people will be voting. We are honored that a member of our Archdiocese, Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis, has been selected by Pope Francis as a voting member. Rhonda Miska, Director of Communications, will be present in Rome October 14-20 as a support to Dr. Manns and to serve the Synod alongside colleagues from Discerning Deacons.