The Synod Team of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) participates in a European meeting to prepare for the unprecedented Ecclesial Assembly of 2028, taking place in the city of Wels, in Austria. The symposium "Shaping synodality in Europe – From vision to roadmap" brings together about 180 participants from 31 countries and 29 Episcopal Conferences, representing a significant moment in the context of the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality.
The work is structured in three theological and practical axes: the first starts from a fundamental attitude through liturgy, when the Church celebrates that "God speaks with humanity as friends"; the second proposes that Christians face "the European context with hope," debating the challenges of "a wounded continent"; and the third pillar addresses ecclesial mission and the paths to give practical form to "the missionary vision of Baptism in today's Europe."
The forum dynamic combines conferences, moments of prayer and celebration, conversation in the Spirit and working groups, addressing themes such as war, migration, polarization, ecumenism, the digital world, and the challenges of catechesis. The plenary sessions feature interventions from numerous Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, and from H.G. Gintaras Grusas, President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), which promotes the meeting with technical organization from the Catholic University of Linz.
The General Secretariat of the Synod published in May a guiding document with the stages, criteria, and methodology for the preparation of the Ecclesial Assembly of October 2028. The itinerary follows four progressive phases: assessment assemblies in the dioceses, starting from the first half of 2027, assemblies of the Episcopal Conferences, continental assemblies, until the meeting at the Vatican in October 2028.
