(DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)Following the direction and encouragement of Pope Francis, the DePaul community will participate in the current worldwide Synod on Synodality in the Catholic Church, entitled "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission."
This Synodal process is focused on soliciting feedback from a broad range of people about their experiences of faith and their hopes for the future of the Catholic Church. This process is an opportunity to discern the pathways to which God calls us – towards deeper communion, fuller participation and greater openness to fulfilling our mission in the world today.
The Division of Mission and Ministry will offer a number of dialogue sessions for faculty, staff and students in the coming weeks and also has plans to convene with other Catholic universities in the Chicago area towards the end of April. The division will then aggregate and share the results of the DePaul conversations at a Chicago-area gathering, as well as through the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities for its report to the Vatican.
This gathering of synodal feedback is the first part of a three-step institutional plan presented to the Mission Committee of the Board of Trustees:
- Participation of DePaul University in the Synodal process of the Catholic Church
- Group conversations and follow-up Synodal Café on April 8 from 2 – 4 p.m.
- Inter-institutional engagement with other Chicago universities with the Synodal process
- Institutional discernment and agreement on DePaul's Catholic identity
For the first two parts of this plan, the university invites those who are or were Catholic to participate. The discernment about DePaul's Catholic identity will involve the entire DePaul community. The university will communicate more about that step in the process in the future.
Below are opportunities for faculty and staff to participate in DePaul's Synodal conversations:
Faculty and staff: Lincoln Park Campus
Wednesday, March 30
12 – 1 p.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center, room 324
RSVP - Includes lunch
Faculty and staff: Loop Campus
Thursday, March 31
12 – 1 p.m.
11th floor DePaul Club
RSVP - Includes lunch
Faculty and staff: Online
Tuesday, April 5
12 – 1 p.m.
RSVP for Zoom link
Student gatherings will begin with a small-group healing ritual and then move into conversation:
Students: Lincoln Park Campus
Thursday, March 31
3 – 4:30 p.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center, room 314 A/B
RSVP
Students: Lincoln Park Campus
Friday, April 1
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Lincoln Park Student Center, room 314 A/B
RSVP
Students: Online
Friday, April 1
1 – 2:30 p.m.
RSVP for Zoom link
The university also will host a Synodal Café for students, faculty and staff on April 8 from 2 – 4 p.m. in the Lincoln Park Student Center, room 220. This session will again focus on anyone who is or was Catholic. DePaul will present themes from the group conversations and engage in new ones. You need not have attended a group conversation to attend.
Find more information about the global Synodal effort within the Catholic Church at the resources below: