The work of the Synod on Synodality continues in the Interim stage. In October 2024, the Church will gather again in Rome to continue the journey and the momentum of the First Session of the Synod on Synodality. The diocese hosted listening sessions in March 2024 to engage the faithful ahead of the fall 2024 assembly. To learn more about those sessions, contact Greg Deja, diocesan synod co-chair.
Synod Updates
Oct. 27, 2024 – Pope warns against becoming a ‘sedentary’ church after synod’s close (CNS on the USCCB website)
Oct. 26, 2024 – Publishing synod document, pope says he will not write exhortation (CNS on the USCCB website)
Sept. 30, 2024 – Read about What synod members have been asked to consider during their month in Rome
July 9, 2024 – Intrumentum laboris, the working document for the October assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality is released. Read more on the USCCB website | “Instrumentum laboris” for the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 2024, multiple languages)
May 28, 2024 – USCCB releases National Synthesis for the Interim Stage. Read in:
(English and Español)
April 29, 2024
Interim synthesis report released. Read the:
Jan. 6, 2024
Preparations for final session of Synod to take place in dioceses in 2024
The second and final session of the Synod on Synodality will happen in October 2024. The first session occurred last October in Rome after considerable consultations that took place over more than a year. In preparation for the final session, in a Jan. 2 letter from Bishop Daniel Flores, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, the U.S. bishops have been asked to host two or three diocesan listening sessions. Listening sessions will be focused on two “guiding questions.” From those sessions, each diocese has been asked to submit a three-to-five-page report which must be provided to the bishops’ conference by April 8. The conference will then supply a summary of all of the diocesan sessions to Rome in May. Read more (Catholic News Agency)
Oct. 31, 2023
Synod of Bishops releases summary report following first session in Rome
For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission
Pope invites prayer with renewed focus ahead of Synod General Assembly opening Oct. 4 (Sept. 19, 2023)
Get the Latest Synod Updates (Vatican News)
Visit the Synod 2021-24 website
Originally announced by Pope Francis in 2021, and extended in October 2022, it now stands that the Synod of Bishops and other participants will gather for an initial meeting of the synod in October, 2023, in Rome, followed by a year of reflection with another culminating meeting set for October 2024. The pope’s invitation to all Catholics was for synodality – that is, listening to — and hearing — one another.
The theme of the synod is synodality itself: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.” The Vatican has approved an enhanced three-stage process in which they hope for greater participation from the whole Church at the diocesan, national and universal levels.
An invitation to prayer from Bishop Walkowiak on May 31, the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will gather in Rome from Oct. 4 – 29, 2023, to continue dialogue on the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”
In preparation, Bishop Walkowiak is extending an invitation from the General Secretariat of the Synod to observe a moment of prayer on Wednesday, May 31, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, placing the Synod under Mary’s protection.
Bishop Walkowiak invites the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the diocese to participate in this special opportunity by praying a rosary followed by the prayer (linked below) at any point during the day on May 31.
View-Download the prayer:
PDF (English and Español) | JPG (Cover | Prayer in English | Oración en español)
Read the:
North American Final Document
Diocesan Letter & Synthesis
Region VI Synthesis
National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America
(English-Spanish, September 2022)
Read more on the National Synthesis from Catholic News Service
Document for the Continental Stage
(English-Spanish, October 2022)
Read more on the Continental document from Vatican News
Listening Sessions & Online Survey
Listening sessions in parishes and other Catholic organizations have now concluded and the online survey has closed as of March 18. Parishes and other groups that held listening sessions between January and mid-March have submitted summarize input from those sessions to the diocesan Synod committee. Those summaries will be compiled into a 10-page diocesan synthesis for discussion at the episcopal conference level. Please see the timeline below for additional information.
Bishop Walkowiak invites your participation in Synod 2021-2023:
Read ‘A Church that Listens‘ (Bilingual) – Bishop Walkowiak’s Sept. 2021 FAITH Grand Rapids column
The Fundamental Question
A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together:” How is this “journeying together” happening today in your particular Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”?
In order to respond, you are invited to prayerfully reflect on the following:
- Recall our experiences: What experiences in our particular Church does this fundamental question bring to mind?
- Re-read these experiences in greater depth: What joys did they bring? What difficulties and obstacles have they encountered? What wounds did they reveal? What insights have they elicited?
- Gather the fruits to share: Where, in these experiences, does the voice of the Holy Spirit resound? What is the Holy Spirit asking of us? What are the points to be confirmed, the prospects for change, the steps to be taken? Where do we register consensus? What paths are opening up for our local Church?
Diocesan Synodal Timeline
Listening sessions have concluded and the online survey is now closed. Parishes and other organizations hosted listening sessions beginning in mid-January through mid-March 2022.
Diocesan Timeline
Diocesan Phase (October 2021 – April 2022)
During the diocesan phase which began in October 2021, each bishop is asked to undertake a consultation process within his respective diocese. Each bishop is asked to appoint co-chairs to help him shepherd the diocese through this process. To assist in the synod, the Vatican will send dioceses a preparatory document, accompanied by a questionnaire, and a guide (known as a “vademecum”) with proposals for consultation.
The questions are categorized under 10 general themes, and people can respond to what is most relevant to their situation and “share with honesty and openness about their real-life experiences, and to reflect together on what the Holy Spirit might be revealing through what they share with one another,” the document said.
The responses to the questionnaires will be compiled into a diocesan synthesis for discussion at the episcopal conference level. In the U.S., this is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They will integrate the suggestions gathered during the diocesan level and combine them into a document for the entire United States.
Diocesan Resources
Participant’s Guide Bulletin Inserts
Additional Synod Resources
Summary: The Main Question and 10 Supporting Themes
Synod resources for Young People from Pflaum Publishing (English | Español)
Follow Synod updates on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Get the Click to Pray App – An updated version of the Pope’s prayer app helps the faithful pray for a synodal Church.
Events
Listening Sessions – Took place mid-January into mid-March 2022.
The Synod 2021-2024 Opening Mass for the Diocese of Grand Rapids took place on Oct. 17, 2021
WATCH VIDEO: Bishop Walkowiak’s homily (YouTube) | Full Mass (Facebook)
What happens after the diocesan synodal phase?
Instrumentum laboris draft #1 created (April – September 2022)
Vatican officials will create a first draft of the synod’s instrumentum laboris, or working document, from the submitted texts.
Continental Phase (September 2022-March 2023)
In the second phase of the process, bishops gather on each continent to discuss the first draft of the instrumentum laboris and submit their thoughts to the Vatican. A second draft of the working document will be created from these texts and released by June 2023.
Synod of Bishops (October 2023 and 2024)
The synodal assembly meets in Rome to discuss the second draft of the working document and produce a Final Document for Pope Francis’ review. Pope Francis decides on the publication of the Final Document.
Synod participants include Church leaders and delegates nominated by Pope Francis or their episcopal conference, in addition to Vatican department heads. The synodal assembly is held in accord with episcopalis communio, an apostolic constitution, issued by Pope Francis in 2018.
Meet the diocesan synod co-chairs and team members:
Greg Deja
Mary Lehman-Panek
Bishop Walkowiak has appointed Greg Deja, executive director of the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan and a parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Grand Rapids, and Mary Lehman-Panek, trustee of the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan and a parishioner at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Belmont, as co-chairs of the diocesan synod process.
The synod team members are:
- Jill Annable, senior vice president of programs, National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA)
- José Astúa, assistant director, Hispanic Ministry – Marriage and Family, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Father Eugene Batungbacal, CSsR, Assistant Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for Hispanic Ministry, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Sister Myra Bergman, RSM
- Rev. Msgr. William Duncan, vicar general and moderator of the curia, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- DJ Florian, director of pastoral services, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Tammy Graves, director of catechesis, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Annalise Laumeyer, director of communications, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Aaron Sanders, director for worship, Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Father Dat Tran, CSP, rector/pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, Grand Rapids
For general questions about Synod 2021-2023, please email synod@grdiocese.org.
From the Vatican:
Synod of Bishops will begin in the local churches (May 21, 2021)
Synodality in the life and mission of the Church
From the USCCB:
Vatican releases guidance for dioceses to begin synodal path (Catholic News Service, Sept. 7, 2021)
What is a Synod of Bishops?
