The Holy Father's announcement came after his call for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, scheduled for Jan. 18-25, which will have as its guiding theme a passage from the prophet Isaiah: "Do good, seek justice" (1:17). "We thank the Lord who with faithfully and patiently guides His people toward full communion, and let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten and sustain us with His gifts," the pontiff said from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
He then immediately gave the announcement of this ecumenical prayer initiative for the Synod: "The path to Christian unity and the Church's path of synodal conversion are linked. Thus, I take this opportunity to announce that next Saturday, September 30, an Ecumenical Prayer Vigil will take place in St. Peter's Square, with which we will entrust to God the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. For the young people who will come to the Vigil, there will be a special program throughout that weekend, organized by the Taizé Community. As of now, I invite brothers and sisters of all Christian denominations to participate in this gathering of the People of God."
The upcoming XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place in two moments, that is, in two sessions, spaced one year apart: the first from October 4 to 29, 2023, the second in October 2024 - an option, this of the spaced-out unfolding, contemplated by the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio.
As Pope Francis has repeatedly reiterated, the Synod is not an event, but a process, in which the whole People of God is called to walk together toward what the Holy Spirit helps it to discern as being the Lord's will for his Church.
Moreover - and all the more so in the case of a Synod on synodality, as is the case here - there must come from the whole Church a willingness to make the journey together, and to prayerfully support the discernment of those who will then actually compose the Synodal Assembly, to foster a more mature reflection for the greater good of the Church.
