Rome Newsroom, 29 April, 2024 / 8:00 pm (ACI Africa).
The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod opened on Monday to discuss “how to be a synodal local Church in mission,” allowing priests from around the world to discuss questions raised during the ongoing synod and share their personal pastoral experiences.
The four-day meeting, which is taking place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome, is attended by about 300 priests from around the globe and is divided into several sessions, taking cues from different themes and questions raised in the synod’s synthesis report.
“The parish priest is a man of the people and for the people. Like Jesus, he is open to the crowd, constantly open to the crowd, to help each and every one understand that they are a letter from Christ,” said Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, in opening the event on Monday morning.
Monday’s discussion was based on the theme “The Face of the Synodal Church,” while Tuesday’s discussion will focus on “All Disciples, All Missionaries.” On Wednesday participants will come together to study “Teaching Ties, Building Communities.”
In reflecting on the overall scope of the Synod on Synodality, which will reconvene in October for its second and final assembly, Grech told participants on Monday that at the center of this process is an understanding, and sharing, of personal narratives.
