In continued response to the late Pope Francis’s call for a Church that “journeys together,” the Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary, Alokolum, in partnership with the African Synodality Initiative (ASI), recently hosted a two-day formation workshop on Synodality and Synodal Pastoral Leadership.
Caroline Kavita – Gulu
The Synodality workshop brought together seminary-priest formators, religious sisters, lecturers, lay members of staff, men and women to deepen their understanding of synodality as a way of life in a Church rooted in communion, participation, and mission.
African Church implementing Synodality
This workshop forms part of ASI’s ongoing continental programme aimed at strengthening pastoral formation in major national seminaries. Since 2023, similar workshops have been held in Rwanda, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Nigeria, and Namibia, engaging Bishops, rectors, the religious, and hundreds of seminarians. The initiative seeks to support African local Churches in implementing the outcomes of the Synod on Synodality (2021–2024) as the Church journeys toward the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly.
The workshop was facilitated by a team from the African Synodality Initiative (ASI), each bringing deep experience in theological formation, pastoral leadership, and synodal spirituality and practice. Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, Dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University and a delegate at the Synod on Synodality, offered insights into the meaning and process of synodality in the Church today.
Listening to the signs of the times
Fr. Marcel Uwineza, SJ, President of Hekima University College (HUC) and Associate Director of ASI, guided participants on integrating synodal values into priestly formation and leadership. Sr. Anne Arabome, SSS, theologian, spiritual director, and founder of the Sophia Institute for Theological Studies and Spiritual Formation, led the session on the spiritual foundations of synodality and the vital role of women in ecclesial life.
Ms. Ndanu Mung’ala, a specialist in pastoral accompaniment, youth engagement and with extensive experience in peacebuilding, gender, and social cohesion, led reflections on listening to the signs of the times and fostering inclusive participation while Ms. Caroline Kavita, Programme Coordinator of ASI and a skilled practitioner in group facilitation, animated the sessions on Conversation in the Spirit, enabling participants to experience synodality as a lived, communal experience.
Towards the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly
The workshop employed a participatory and experiential methodology rooted in Conversation in the Spirit as facilitated by Fr. Orobator.
Sessions combined presentations, private prayer, dialogue in small groups, plenary sharing, guided meditation, and reflective silence to foster deep listening and communal discernment. Case scenarios and structured group exercises allowed participants to practice synodal leadership skills in real-life pastoral contexts, ensuring not only theoretical understanding but lived experience of journeying, discerning, and deciding together as a community.
As the Church in Africa prepares for the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly, the seeds planted through these formation programmes will continue to shape leaders who serve with humility and foster collaboration in the shared mission of the church.
(Cisa News Africa)
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