Next month, Bishop Joseph Williams will lead a delegation of diocesan leaders to Rome to participate in a series of synodal meetings at the Vatican, which will include an audience with Pope Leo XIV and meetings with fellow teams from around the globe.
From Oct. 24- 26, as part of the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, Bishop Williams will be joined by Father Jon Thomas, diocesan Vicar General, and the seven heads of the Diocese of Camden secretariats: Andrés Arango, Director of Evangelization and Bishop’s Delegate for Hispanic Ministry, of the Secretariat for Evangelization and Hispanic Ministries; Dr. Maria Elena Hallion, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of South Jersey, of the Secretariat for Community Outreach; Nicole Keefer, Executive Director of VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services Diocese of Camden, of the Secretariat for Health and Well-Being; Laura Montgomery, diocesan Finance Officer, of the Secretariat for Administration and Finance; Donna Ottaviano-Britt, Director of the Office of Discipleship and Leadership, of the Secretariat for Discipleship and Evangelization; Michael Walsh, Director of Communication, of the Secretariat for Communication; and Dr. Bill Watson, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, of the Secretariat for Catholic Education.
During the three-day event at the Vatican, which will recognize the value of the participatory bodies and the individuals who serve within them, these nine from the Diocese, along with other global participants, will affirm their commitment to building a more synodal Church.
Diocesan participation is part of Bishop Williams’ belief in continual conversion and the mission of the Church, said Ottaviano-Britt, adding that the Bishop “believes in the renewal of not only people’s hearts as individuals, but for us in our parishes, communities and families in the Diocese of Camden.”
The Camden contingent will break bread and pray together with their global synod counterparts, participate in workshops, seminars and lectures, and cross the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. While the event is multi-lingual, the diocesan contingent will be working with fellow delegations from English-speaking countries.
Included among the 18 roundtable workshops and seminars that will take place include topics such as “Youth and Synodality”: “A Vocational Perspective, A new way of pastoral planning that promotes synodal transformation”; “The Spirituality of Co-Responsibility: Diocesan Life and Lay Ecclesial Leadership”; and “The conversion of processes: shaping the mission through discernment and accountability.”
The workshops and seminars will be facilitated by a global contingent of synodal experts, including Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of Kalookan, Philippines; Father Jacques Haers, SI, Emeritus Professor of Theology at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; Sister Leticia Salazar, ODN, Chancellor and Diocesan Synodal Team Coordinator of the Diocese of San Bernardino, Calif.; and Archbishop Timothy John Costelloe, SDB, Archdiocese of Perth, Australia.
“This working pilgrimage is also an opportunity for the leadership of the Diocese to avail themselves of coming to the spiritual home of the Church, to walk within the walls of The Holy See and be reminded of why we have chosen this vocation of service to the people of the Church,” Walsh said. “I was there in 2023 during a spiritual pilgrimage, and I was deeply moved by the incredible spirituality present in the basilicas and churches of Rome. For my colleagues who have not had the opportunity, I’m very much looking forward to seeing their reaction to working for a weekend in the place we see so often from afar.”
He continued, “I’m also very much looking forward to interacting with our counterparts from around the globe and bringing to them the perspective of the people of Camden and receiving synod perspectives from those of other cultures.”
Ottaviano-Britt said that once the delegation returns home, it will be their duty to “bring the richness of their experiences back, the blessings and learnings, to meet the needs of our Diocese. [I hope] it will be obvious that we have been transformed and changed, and that our hope is deeper, our hope is wider.”
During the Diocese’s synod listening sessions over the past few years, she said, priorities were identified for the Church of South Jersey, including the Eucharist, youth, co-responsibility in building the kingdom, and reaching those on the peripheries.
The Church seeks to “fulfill the mission of Jesus, for everyone to know Him,” Arango said. “To do that, we need to first be a community, and this trip will help us do that, empowered by the Holy Spirit.”
He said he is confident that there will be much fruit born in the Rome trip, “that will be reflected here in our parishes and communities to continue to spread the Gospel.”
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