Synod Small Groups

Archbishop Bernard Hebda speaks with students at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul during a Pre-Synod Prayer and Listening Event Oct. 15, 2019. The Prayer and Listening Events paved the way for Synod Small Groups that parishes will host this fall.

After three years of preparation, the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly has arrived.

The Pentecost weekend June 3-5 event includes about 500 Catholics representing most parishes and many Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul for three days of prayer, worship, talks and discussion about the future of the local Church.

Here’s what to know about this momentous occasion.

1. A synod is a gathering of a local Church. In this case, that local Church is the people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Diocesan synods have a long history in the Church for establishing local Church law and pastoral priorities, and they follow structures outlined in canon law. The 1983 Code of Canon Law — the most current promulgation of the Catholic Church’s law — was inspired by the Second Vatican Council to renew the concept of diocesan synods and dedicates eight canons (Canons 460-468) to outlining their norms. Unlike previous versions, the 1983 Code requires that lay people be involved in a diocesan synod, and it permits the involvement of non-Catholics.

2. The idea for this synod was generated seven years ago. When Pope Francis named Archbishop Bernard Hebda apostolic administrator of the archdiocese in 2015, he planned to recommend to his successor that he launch a synod as a way to assess the needs of the local Church and help propel it forward. When Pope Francis named him the archbishop in 2016, the idea stuck. In 2018, Archbishop Hebda formed a group of people to pray about it, and their confirmation led him to announce the Synod in June 2019. The process officially opened that year at Pentecost.

3. The Archdiocesan Synod has three focus areas. They are: 1. Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2. Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and 3. Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

4. The process began in 2019 with efforts to hear from all Catholics in the archdiocese. The Synod Assembly is the culmination of a process that included 30 Prayer and Listening Events and focus groups attended by Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, then the auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, in 2019 and 2020. Taking into account information gathered from the Prayer and Listening Events and focus groups, Archbishop Hebda discerned the Synod’s three focus areas, which he announced in August 2020. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Synod organizers responded with several online catechetical series, including “Synod at Home: Tips and Tools for Growing in Faith.” Then, in the fall of 2021, Catholics met at their parishes for a six-week teaching and discussion series to further explore those topics. The feedback from that series, called the Parish Consultation with Small Groups, led to the development of propositions, or action items, related to the focus areas. Those propositions were refined through the one-day Parish Synod Leadership Team Consultation, which took place in parishes in late February and early March. Synod Assembly participants will prayerfully discern which of those propositions to recommend to Archbishop Hebda as the best ways to realize the goals of the Synod’s focus areas.

5. A synod is not a process for changing Church teaching, or wielding or amassing influence or political power. And while the synod itself will include voting, it’s also not a democratic exercise, former Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens told The Catholic Spirit in 2019, well before he became Bishop of Crookston in 2021. “It’s meant to be a spiritual exercise,” he said. “It’s a process of discernment that is meant to help the shepherds be better shepherds.”

6. The process has been rooted in prayer. Throughout the Archdiocesan Synod process, members of the Synod Prayer Team have committed to regular prayer for the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance of the process. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, Archbishop Hebda presided at Pentecost Masses where the faithful of the archdiocese were invited to pray for the Synod. And, for the past several months, parishes around the archdiocese have held a monthly Holy Hour for the intentions of the Synod. The Synod Assembly opens and closes with Mass, and also includes a special Pentecost Vigil Mass open to all at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul 7 p.m. June 4. Some people will also take turns in adoration during the entire Assembly to pray for the event.

7. Most of the Synod Assembly participants are lay people. Each parish was asked to send two representatives to the Synod. While there are also some priests and religious men and women attending, the vast majority of participants are lay people representing the ecclesiastical, cultural and geographic diversity of the archdiocese.

8. The feedback from the Synod Assembly will shape a pastoral letter expected from Archbishop Hebda in November. Synod Assembly participants will vote on which focus area propositions they recommend be adopted to help realize that focus area’s goal. That information will be shared with Archbishop Hebda as he prepares a pastoral letter about the future of the local Church. That letter is expected to be released on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 20.

9. That letter will inform an action plan. The action plan will help parishes implement Archbishop Hebda’s archdiocesan-wide goals. Ultimately, the outcomes of Archdiocesan Synod are expected to affect every parish in archdiocese, helping them to strengthen their response to evangelization, discipleship and engaging young people.

10. The Archdiocesan Synod is not related to the 2023 Vatican Synod on Synodality. Last year, Pope Francis announced the launching of a worldwide Synod on Synodality, or the style in which the Church is led by the Holy Spirit and engages the contributions of the whole of the faithful to Church life. While that process includes a local component — including a current survey — and Archbishop Hebda said the local Synod will help the archdiocese prepare for the Vatican synod, the two synods are unique events.