During the five-day meeting, the priests will participate in roundtable discussions, liturgical celebrations, workshops on pastoral proposals, and “dialogue with experts,” according to the press release by the synod organizers, at the Fraterna Domus retreat center in Sacrofano, near Rome.
The goal of the meeting, the Vatican says, is “listening to and valuing the experience of parish priests” and providing them with “an opportunity to experience the dynamism of synodal work at a universal level.”
The meeting is part of the ongoing Synod on Synodality initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021. A multiyear process, the synod aims to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. The first monthlong session of the Synod on Synodality concluded on Oct. 28, 2023, with the finalization of a 42-page synthesis report. The October 2024 session is expected to produce a final report, which will be presented to Pope Francis for his consideration in issuing any related teaching.
The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, which governs the synod, said that the meeting was organized in response to the first synod assembly’s Synthesis Report, which identified a need to “develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.”
The priests will also have the chance to speak with Pope Francis in an audience on May 2, the Vatican said in February. The Vatican also said the results of the priests’ meeting will contribute to the drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the second session of the Synodal Assembly, in October 2024.
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