The 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, commonly referred to as the synod on synodality, is an upcoming synod of bishops of the Catholic Church which will last from October 2023 to October 2024. This long-awaited event has as its theme "For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission". It comes as a fruit of the great desire of Pope Francis for a synodal and missionary Church.
To understand more on the synod, we were honoured by the presence of Msgr. Riccardo Battocchio invited by one of the spiritual directors of our college and a professor of ecclesiology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, don Miguel de Salis. Msgr. Riccardo, the rector of the Almo Collegio Capranica and president of the Italian Theological Association, is one of the two special secretaries nominated by Pope Francis for the synod. He gave a lot of insights on the synod, especially on how the program will unfold.
The first session will hold from 4 to 29 October, 2023 in the Pope Paul VI Hall, while the final session will take place in October, 2024. Highlighting what the synod is all about, he said that the synod is not aimed at responding to any specific doctrinal or moral issue, rather it is meant to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term. Also, he mentioned that a peculiar character of this synod is the notable number of lay participants. At the end, he asked for prayers for the success of the synod. The meeting concluded with the recitation of the synod's official prayer, led by Msgr. Riccardo.