Sister Leticia Salazar, ODN, the Chancellor of the Diocese of San Bernardino, and members of the diocese’s Synod Core Team will travel to the Vatican to participate in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies during the weekend of Oct. 24-26.
“We, the synodal team, are presenting together with Bishop Rojas,” Sr. Salazar said. “We are having weekly meetings to pray together as a team, to reflect on the topic as we prepare the presentation at the universal level.”
The diocesan team will make a presentation on the importance of Co-responsibility, an idea brought forth in the Synod that all people of faith, by their baptism, are called equally to carry out the mission of the Church. Specifically, they will reflect on the spiritual imperatives and practical steps that foster co-responsible synodal leadership among clery and laity in parish and diocesan contexts.
Sr. Salazar has been a part of the Synod on Synodality process from the beginning and reached Vatican-level leadership, when she was named as one of just 11 individuals from the United States to serve in the U.S. Team for the Continental Phase of the Synod in 2022 and selected by Pope Francis to be one of the first non-bishop voting delegates in the 2023-24 Synod General Assembly.
Joining Sr. Salazar in Rome this month is Bishop Alberto Rojas, Father Rafael Partida, Director of the Diocesan Office of Divine Worship, Elder Samaniego, Director of the Diocesan Office of Office of Child and Youth Protection, and Dr. Amanda Alexander, Director of the Department of Ministry Formation Institute.
According to the General Secretariat of the Synod, this is an important event aimed at recognizing the value of these bodies and the individuals who serve within them, thereby affirming the commitment to building an ever more synodal Church within the horizon of the hope that does not disappoint, the very hope we celebrate in the Jubilee.
This gathering is primarily intended for all members of synodal teams or participatory bodies, such as a presbyteral council, pastoral council, or finance council at the diocesan/eparchial, national and/or groupings of Churches level. The Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies program includes moments of formation and exchange among participants as well as liturgical events.
On Oct. 24, there will be an opening prayer and inaugural session, followed by dialogue with Pope Leo XIV. On Oct. 25, the participants will start their day on a pilgrimage and pass through the Holy Doors, then they will spend most of the day in workshops, called “The Exchange of Gifts between churches,” which will include conversation in the spirit based on participants’ experiences. On their last day, the participants will celebrate Mass presided by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Basilica.