Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron's office provided information on how the Detroit area has participated in the Synod on Synodality and what is to come in the next couple of years.

"It is clear from these materials that our Holy Father sees the great value and potential contributions of current and recent synods around the world,” Holly Fournier, associate director of Communications for the Detroit archdiocese, said in an interview with the Michigan Catholic - Tribune.

Pope Francis announced the “Synod on Synodality” in 2020. The program was designed to take place over two years, 2022 and 2023. 

America Magazine describes a synod “is a meeting or assembly of church leaders.” Synods are a religious tradition that exist in most faiths. One example of a productive one was Vatican II, when the bishops come together to discuss important issues. “Synodality” refers to the way the Church makes decisions during a synod. After the synod is concluded, the bishops draft a document that the pope uses in the future. 

The Synod on Synodality takes on four phases, the Synod’s website said. They are as follows: 1) The Diocesen Phase; 2) The Episcopal Conference/Synods of Oriental Churches Phase; 3) The Continental Phase; and 4) The Universal Phase.

The Church has now completed the first phase, where dioceses around the world held meetings at their parishes to discuss certain issues pertaining to the Catholic Church and the world. It is now prepared to start the second phase. 

The website said that the aim of the Synod “is not to provide a temporary or one-time experience of synodality, but rather to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term.” The three themes are participation, communion and mission. 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a summary of the participation during Phase 1. The National Synthesis said that 66.8 million Catholics are in the United States, and 700,000 of them participated in Phase 1, producing 22,000 reports compiled by the USCCB. 

The Adsumus Sancte Spiritus Prayer, which translates to “We stand before You, Holy Spirit,” is traditionally prayed before every synod. It is posted on the Vatican’s synod website. 

"The Archdiocese of Detroit is excited to be participating in the Synod on Synodality on the local, regional, and national levels, guided by the preparatory documents sent out by the Holy See,” Fournier said. "In distributing information and material in preparation for the Synod on Synodality, the Vatican made specific provisions for dioceses like ours that have recently hosted local synods, so we would not need to repeat the process again so soon.”

She cited an example, saying the Vademecum “acknowledges that the provided materials ‘are to be applied differently in diverse contexts, depending on... any concurrent or recent synodal processes occurring in the diocese’ (4.4.3). The same document also encourages dioceses that are currently undergoing synods to 'creatively articulate the synodal processes already underway with the phases of the current Synod taking place across the entire Church' (1.1).” 

Also, the Preparatory Document “lists some main objectives of the global synodal process, including 'fostering the appreciation and appropriation of the fruits of recent synodal experiences on the universal, regional, national, and local levels' (pg. 3)," Fournier continued.

The Archdiocese of Detroit synodal process was featured on Detroit Catholic.