Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has formally convoked a Synod for the Archdiocese of Melbourne. A synod is a gathering of God’s people – bishops, priests and representatives – who come and discern together about matters regarding faith, governance, and pastoral care. This process involves prayer, dialogue, and consultation, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of the Church’s mission in the contemporary world.

Synod themes

The purpose of this synod is to help shape our evangelical and missionary priorities for the years ahead. Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has invited the community to focus on three key themes for the Synod:

• Young Discipleship

• Missionary Leadership

• Formation and Participation

Where are we?

The organisers of the upcoming Melbourne Synod would like to thank everyone who contributed to the synod’s consultation phase, during which a total of 224 responses were received from parishes, individuals and groups across the Archdiocese. As the number of participants involved in group submissions was not recorded, this figure doesn’t reflect the many people who gathered in groups to participate in ‘conversations in the Spirit’.

The organisers are also grateful to the representatives of the 106 parishes who attended the regional consultation meetings held throughout the Archdiocese. For these consultations, responses were recorded at a regional level for each synod theme rather than as individual table submissions.

So what’s been happening since then?

To learn more, click here.