Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez Releases Video Conversation with Ms. Julia Osęka, Voting Delegate for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
A student at Saint Joseph’s University, Ms. Osęka is one of ten non-Bishop voting delegates appointed by the Vatican to represent the North American region
Today, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez released a video in advance of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
It features a candid conversation with Ms. Julia Osęka, an international student from Poland attending Saint Joseph’s University who was recently appointed by Pope Francis to serve as a voting delegate at the General Assembly of the Synod next month.
To watch the video via Archbishop Pérez’s Facebook page, please click here.
To learn more about Ms. Osęka’s appointment as a delegate at the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, please click here.
Pope Francis has asked Catholics around the world to pray for the work of the Synod in the days leading up to this international gathering and during the course of its proceedings.
Archbishop Perez has echoed the Holy Father’s call by inviting the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to pray for the Synod throughout the month of October.
The Archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship has shared dedicated prayers and intentions in English and Spanish for this purpose.
Contextual Background
Archbishop Pérez opened the Diocesan Phase of the Synod on Synodality in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on October 17, 2021.
Called for by Pope Francis, the Synod on Synodality is a multi-year process of spiritual discernment consisting of listening and dialogue throughout the Universal Church. The Holy Father called on Catholics around the world to reflect on the theme of “Communion, Participation, and Mission” in the context of the life of the Catholic Church.
The Synod provides an opportunity for serious reflection and action to deepen an understanding of the role of all the members of the Church, journeying together with Christ as our Head, in living the Gospel in our time.
In Fall 2022, the Archdiocese released its official summary of the Diocesan Phase of the Synod on Synodality which encapsulated the work of the Synod throughout the five-county Philadelphia region.
As part of the synodal process, that information was shared with other dioceses in the region as well as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which published the U.S. National Synthesis.
To read the official summary of the Diocesan Phase of the Synod on Synodality, please click the dedicated link below.
https://archphila.org/synodality-summary/
In April 2023, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released the official summary of North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission. The document, along with the contributions of the six other Continental Assemblies, will form the basis of the Instrumentum Laboris to be released by the General Secretariat of the Synod in June 2023.
To read the North American Final Document for the Continental Stage in English, please click the here. For Spanish, please click here.
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Editor’s Note: To learn more about the Synod on Synodality and its implementation in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit https://archphila.org/synod/.
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