A Synod for Limerick Diocese

The Diocese of Limerick will from December begin an 18 month period of reflection and listening as it builds towards the first Synod held in Ireland since the 1950s and the first in the diocese in over 70 years.

As we prayed and prepared for the international Synod in Rome,
Bishop Leahy confirmed that Limerick too is on the synodal journey
- we are preparing for a the first Synod in Limerick since 1937!

The Diocese of Limerick will from December begin an 18 month period of reflection and listening as it builds towards the first Synod held in Ireland since the 1950s and the first in the diocese in over 70 years.

"We will be opening a website for the Synod. I invite all send in observations or suggestions. And by ‘all’ I mean people of deep faith but also those who might consider they do not have deep faith or seldom take part in worship or feel they have lost their faith."

Announced by Bishop Brendan Leahy at a Youth Mass at St. Joseph’s Hall, St. Joseph’s Parish in  September; the Synod will be a three day-meeting of 400 delegates in Spring 2016 that will set out a path to enable the Diocese to meet the many challenges it faces going forward and ensure it can deliver, with a sense of renewal as well as partnership among all in the diocese, the message, ministry and mission needed for the future.

Between September and the official Synod launch on Sunday, December 7th the Diocese is identifying up to 400 Synod delegates, who will be drawn from across the Dioceses, and will collectively embark with the delegates on a process that will set out the key issues for consideration at the gathering in Spring 2016

“No one, no matter what age, should feel a stranger to the Synod process. In the coming year and a half there will be many gatherings for discussion, catechesis and prayer" (Bishop Leahy)

You can read the full text of a letter from Bishop Brendan announcing the Synodal Process HERE

To apply to be a delegate: Full details were sent to parishes and chaplaincies in early October (by email and paper-mail). Most delegates will be nominated or invited through their parish, faith community, chaplaincy etc. However any Catholic resident in Limerick diocese who wishes to may also apply directly to be a delegate at the Synod. This form has the details HERE. Please feel welcome to contact Fr Eamonn or the Diocesan Office (contact details here) to discuss any aspect of this

“Let’s encourage one another to make our own the words of Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter on the Joy of the Gospel: ‘I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.’ We are at a crucial time in the history of our Diocese. The missionary commitment of each one of us is essential.” (Bishop Leahy)