The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops 2023 aims at analyzing the life and mission of the church with the relevant theme: ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.’ The three dimensions of the theme are interrelated and each enriches and orients the other.

The first Pre-Synodal Meeting of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman in preparation for the XVI Ordinary Synod of Bishops, was held on 18th -19th March 2022. The meeting was held at St. Joseph Vaz Spirituality Renewal Centre, Old Goa. It was a live-in programme which commenced at 8.00 a.m. on 18th March and concluded at 5.30 p.m. on 19th March. The participants included the Local Ordinaries, Diocesan Priests, Men and Women Religious, Migrants, Lay Faithful, Youth, Seminarians, Novices, Children, Differently-abled etc. It was an opportunity for the faithful from different walks of life to come together, to celebrate, to pray, to reflect on the various experiences of the Synodal process in the Archdiocese, to listen to the feedback that had emerged from the Consultation at five levels; to dialogue about the current reality in the Local Church, and to discern the call of the Holy Spirit and the will of God for the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman on the path of Synodality.

The following were the objectives of the Pre-Synodal Meeting: To culminate the Archdiocesan phase of Consultation To celebrate and reflect on the emerging realities To highlight the main theme of the Archdiocesan Consultation To involve the members of Diverse Communities To listen to people and to discern God’s Will for the Local Church for deeper communion, fuller participation and more fruitful mission To bring out the best practices, Synodal pathways and a new momentum towards a more Synodal Church To develop the Archdiocesan Synthesis
Fr.  Simiao Fernandes, the Convenor of the Pre-Synodal Meeting along with the Coordinating Synodal Team, worked diligently to make this meeting fruitful and successful and moreover to make the programme productive and achieve its objectives and meet its goal, booklets were printed with all the necessary and minute details. It was made available to all participants much before the commencement of the meeting day so  we come well prepared for the same. Each participant was given a badge and a pen. All participants were grouped with not more than 20 members for sharing their views  and experiences. There were 20 groups in all with a moderator, a facilitator and two secretaries. Total strength of all the participants for this Pre-Synodal Meeting was about 400. Each group had to give a report of experiences shared and suggestions for journeying ahead according to the topic of discussion given on each day.

The meeting had a packed schedule. The schedule included the following: Eucharistic Celebrations, Adoration, Enthronement of the Word, Praise and Worship and other Spiritual Exercises Address by the Archbishop and Review of the Synodal Process in the Archdiocese Panel sharing on the feedback received from the five levels of consultation based on the ten thematic nuclei Group reflection, sharing and listening to one another Sharing of experiences on the Synodal Journey Sharing of Experiences on the Church from different perspectives Audio-Visual presentation by the Mission of Daman and Youth Poster Presentation by children, Minor Seminaries and Novices Fellowship and informal sharing as well as listening

This Pre-Synodal Meeting was indeed an amazing experience of journeying together and also an opportunity for Listening, Sharing and Discerning together. I was privileged to be a part of this Pre-Synodal Meeting. I appreciate all the efforts put together by numerous people involved to make our overnight stay comfortable and make this meeting a success. Some of the major activities were Live-Streamed and also made available on the Youtube Channel of the Diocesan Centre for Social Communication Media and CCRTV.

A Brief Report on Pre-Synodal Meeting-Sr. Godvina (H.C)