XVI Synod of Bishops

This coming Sunday, 17 October 2021, dioceses around the world will launch local preparations for the XVI Synod of Bishops. The Synod, themed “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”, was solemnly opened in Rome last week by Pope Francis. If you haven’t already done so, you may be interested to watch the Mass and read Pope Francis’ homily as published on Catholic Outlook.

This Sunday at 10am, I will be celebrating a livestreamed Mass at St Nicholas of Myra Parish, Penrith to mark the opening of the Synod of Bishops in the Diocese of Parramatta.

This Mass will be broadcast on the St Nicholas of Myra Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SNOMPenrith) and shared to the Diocesan Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/parracatholic). We have enclosed a social media tile you may wish to share to advertise this Mass.

Because of the overlap of the Synod with the Australian Plenary Council, I have also the timeline summarising key milestones for both events. Synod_of_Bishops__Plenary_Council_Timeline

For this weekend, I look forward to including the Diocese of Parramatta in a journey that will see the entire Church reflecting on a process which Pope Francis has described as ‘walking on the same road, walking together.’

Download the Prayer for the XVI Synod of Bishops: Synod_of_Bishops_Prayer