After three years of discussion, debate and, at times, division, the concluding act of Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality kicks off today with the opening of a two-day spiritual retreat before the 368 participants in the second, and final, Roman assembly start their conversations.
As during the first session of the synod last year, the retreat will be led by Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe and Benedictine Mother Ignazia Angelini, organised into four “meditations” over the two days.
The retreat will also feature a Mass tonight in St. Peter’s Basilica, and a penitential liturgy tomorrow evening in the presence of the Pope, in which, among things, victims of abuse, war and indifference to migrants will offer testimony.
