Synod 2021-2023 - For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission

The Church of God is convoked in Synod. With this convocation, Pope Francis invites the whole Church to question itself on synodality: a decisive theme for the life and mission of the Church.

Led by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and the Eucharist, we are called to raise up disciples who joyfully live out the mission of proclaiming the Good News and making disciples of others. By embarking on this process, we are not only building up the universal Church, but also our local Church here in the Diocese of Saint John. We ask the Holy Spirit to speak through each one of us, as we come to Jesus with hearts seeking his "now" word. May the Lord draw us more perfectly into union with him as a diocesan Church sent out to proclaim the joy of the Gospel as missionary disciples.

In July 2022 the reports from the diocesan phase of the Synod 2021-2022 were submitted. These reports included: 

1. A Diocesan Report: Findings from 22 parishes, 6 lay associations/groups, and individual submissions from across the Diocese of Saint John. This reprsents our diocesan response to Pope Francis’ request for all to take part in the synod, and will help Bishop Riesbeck discern the pastoral needs and concerns of the local church. 
2. An Atlantic Region Report: This report is a summary of the responses from all 13 dioceses in the Atlantic region and was submitted to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to be included in their synod responses report for Canada.
3. A CCCB Report: This report gives an overview of themes and thoughts shared by all the dioceses across Canada.
4. A North American Final Document.

With the completion of the Diocesan Stage, the Synod moved into a Continental Stage that culminated with the celebration of Continental Synodal Assemblies, between January and March 2023. These Continental Synodal Assemblies were convened to reread the journey made and to continue the listening and discernment, having as their point of departure the Document for the Continental Stage, and proceeded in accord with the socio-cultural specificities of their respective regions. Their aim was to carry out one more step in this spiritual journey. The working document for the Contitenental Stage may be found at Documento-Tappa-Continentale-EN.pdf (synod.va). 

In February 2024, dioceses were invited to reflect on the Synthesis Report published in October 2023 and to prepare contributions for the final session of the Synod in October 2024. For this next step in the overall synod process, the Holy See requested that these reflection sessions involve a more focused number of participants to reflect on specific themes from the Synthesis Report that are of particular relevance to the local church. These more focused discussions built upon the broad consultation of the earlier Synod on Synodality listening events held in 2022. To that end, each parish invited 2-3 key leaders to attend two Synod Reflection Sessions to prayerfully engage the following themes in the context of our diocesan mission: Church is Mission (theme #8) and A Synodal Approach to Formation (theme #14). These sessions took place during the first two weeks of March. A summary report containing the fruit of these reflection sessions was sent to the CCCB in April 2024.

In gratitude for all who participated and attentive to the Holy Spirit, we ask you to continue praying for the Synodal process throughout the universal Church. Understanding that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the Synod, we come before the Lord as people of faith, opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit and asking him to teach us how to be a Church that listens to one another. 

You are invited you to pray the Adsumus Sancte Spiritus throughout the Synodal Process and before every gathering to ensure that this process of deliberations is steeped in prayer, and to give God permission to move in power in our diocese and throughout the universal Church.

Bishop Riesbeck's Message
Prayer of Invocation to the Holy Spirit
Preparatory document
Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality
Instrumentum Laboris for the first stage (October 2023)
English Synthesis Report (October 2023)
 Synodality Letter (February 2024)
Synod Reflection Sessions - Summary Report (April 2024)
Canadian Synthesis Report for the Second Session of the Synod (May 2024)
Instrumentum Laboris for the second session (October 2024)