On World Mission Sunday, Bishop officially opens Synod for all ‘to walk together’

PATERSON  Responding to Pope Francis’ call to the Universal Church, the Diocese of Paterson officially opened the two-year process of a Synod of Synodality with the theme, “For a synodal Church: Communion — Participation — Mission.”

The event took place on World Mission Sunday Oct. 24 at the 11:30 a.m. Mass in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney as the main celebrant with many priests from the Diocese and priests who serve in mission lands as concelebrants of the Mass.

Delegates representing the 109 parishes, young people from diocesan high schools and elementary schools, and religious orders were invited to attend the Mass. They will serve an integral role in their communities during the synod, which means, “to walk together.” They joined the parishioners of St. John’s. Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the cathedral, welcomed the congregation to the Mass.

Because it was previously scheduled before the official opening of the Synod by Pope Francis on Oct. 10 in Rome, the diocesan celebration of World Mission Sunday was also observed at which Catholic schools in the Diocese were honored for supporting mission lands. During the end of Mass, Filippini Sister Jo-Ann Pompa, principal of St. Gerard School here, was presented with the St. Therese Mission Award for continuously inspiring her school community to pray and support the missions.

At the start of the Mass, the Bishop said, “Today, we gather together with the whole Church on this World Mission Sunday remembering that call to be missionary disciples that each of us has received in his or her baptism and also responding to the call of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to enter into this process on synodality. I thank each and everyone one of you on behalf of our Diocese for being here this morning and most importantly for the way that you live the call to missionary discipleship here in our Diocese and the sharing of the Good News of the Gospel.”

The process is part of the 16th Synod of Bishops and in his homily, the Bishop encouraged all to “encounter, listen, and discern” what Pope Francis emphasized at the Oct. 10 Mass at the Vatican.

The Bishop said, quoting Pope Francis, “As we initiate this process, we too are called to become experts in the art of encounter — not so much by organizing events or theorizing about problems, as in taking time to encounter the Lord and one another. At this time in our history, Our Holy Father has invited us as part of the mystical body of the whole Church to enter into this process to encounter, to listen, and to discern. Let us pray that we can do it together.”

Throughout the world, opening of the Synod Masses have taken place this month and the “diocesan phase” of the Synod will run until April 2022. The 16th Assembly of Bishops in Synod will take place in October 2023. According to the Vademecum for the Synod of Synodality: the Official Handbook, during this current and first phase, it will be the listening phase in the local churches and every diocese in the world is expected to promote a special time of prayer, listening, dialogue, and recommendations.

Acknowledging World Mission Sunday, the Bishop thanked all the religious orders, Catholic schools, and their school leaders in attendance at the Mass for their work in supporting the missions. The Prayer of the Faith­ful were read in the following languages: English, Italian, Nigerian, Arabic, Tagalog (the Philippines), Spanish, French, and Polish.

Mila Burdeos, director of the diocesan Mission Office, spoke at the end of the Mass. “We are all asked to own these words and to bring to others what we bear in our hearts.” She said. “It is time to focus on the Mission of the Church, which is to bring and spread the Good News to the whole world. We think of missionaries, clergy, or laymen and women, who have dedicated their lives to bringing the Gospel to people in mission countries. But remember, we are all missionaries, witnessing by our own lives to the Good News, we have come to know through Jesus, Our Lord.”

Afterward, the Bishop imparted a blessing on school principals and mission moderators of schools, who are involved with the work of the Missionary Childhood Association.

Each parish of the Diocese was asked to send two representatives to be part of the Mass. Karen Sisco and Madelynn Magninni attended the Mass representing St. Francis of Assisi Church in Haskell. They were honored to be selected to represent their parish for the Synod “Being here means to be part of the journey for the Synod and to help our Church and the world grow in faith. We are going to be working together and helping others get closer to God,” they told The Beacon.