By Rory McNelley, Education and Enrichment Coordinator 

Last week Archbishop of Cincinnati Robert Casey called for a synod of religious and lay people of the 19 counties in the archdiocese to come together in dialogue to share ideas about the future. 

A synod is a gathering of Catholics in a community open to the Holy Spirit to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

“This is a time of prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another, to discern God’s will for our local church in the years ahead,” Casey stated in a video posted by the archdiocese. The last synod in Cincinnati took place in 1971. 

“I think this is a wonderful idea for the church at large, especially for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati because, since Pope Francis has brought this initiative back to the Church, we can more fully sit down and listen,” campus minister Deacon Patrick Saint-Jean S.J said.

Pope Francis initiated the Synod on Synodality during his time as Holy Father and Pope Leo XIV has continued this legacy. The goal is for the church to become more participatory and collaborative; Francis used the phrase “Synodal Church.” The word synod means walking together and is aimed at becoming a listening Church. 

“The synod is something that the Church has been needing; inclusive listening is the way everyone in the Church can have a voice. We sit down, we wait, we listen and we give space for the Holy Spirit to talk to us,” Saint-Jean said. “I think it’s going to be very good for the Church at large, including us at the university. An experience like this can have a major impact on us because it invites us to sit down with each other, pay attention, listen and care.” 

The 2027 Synod will last only a few days – though the planning process is time consuming and elaborate. The first step is to announce a synod and explain to the people of the archdiocese why they should donate their time and ideas to the convention-like event.  

The archdiocese’s last synod set guidelines on temporal affairs and administration of church property such as construction and sale of church facilities and assets. This upcoming synod does not have a designated theme, but rather Casey is hoping the ideas of the participants will guide the discussion. 

“I think there is a lot of conflict in our world right now and I think dialogue without conflict and peaceful discussion between different points of view in the Catholic Church is important,” senior environmental science and communications major, Maggie Keenan said. 

The gathering has a goal of finding ways to make the Church better by bringing together ideas from people across the 19 counties of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. There is no set date for the 2027 Synod, but implementations of ideas brought forth from the event are aimed to begin in early 2028. 

“As a Jesuit Catholic University, reflection and discernment are core values at Xavier. With recent grants that are focused on engaging students and faculty in the work of synodality, we are eager to share our gifts, listen carefully, and participate in the Archdiocesan synod with deep commitment and hope,” University Chaplin Fr. Eric Sundrup S.J. stated in an official university statement.