Cynthia Bailey Manns, one of the original members of the Lay Advisory Board that advises Archbishop Bernard Hebda and adult learning director at St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis, is one of 10 non-bishop voting delegates chosen by Pope Francis to represent the North American region at the first general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in October.
Hoping to advance local conversation about racial equity, particularly from a Catholic perspective, the Catholic Racial Justice Coalition (CRJC) is sponsoring an April 13 event at St. Mary’s University in Minneapolis.
More than 200 people participated in online listening sessions set up Feb. 25 and Feb. 27 by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for the ongoing Synod of Bishops at the Vatican as Pope Francis encourages a more welcoming Church ready to walk with people in their struggles.
From ordaining a new auxiliary bishop to ordaining 18 permanent deacons; from Pope Francis choosing a local parishioner as a non-bishop voting delegate for the Synod of Bishops in Rome to the annual Tekakwitha Conference being held in the Twin Cities — 2023 was a memorable year for the local Church.
War breaking out in the Holy Land, continuing in Ukraine and violence elsewhere around the world even as delegates gathered for the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican Oct. 4-29 added another dimension of prayerful intensity, a delegate from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said.
Pope Francis has appointed more than 450 participants, including dozens of religious men and women and laypeople from around the world, to attend the first general assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in October.
“There’s a spiritual component as well, and we have to pray for the conversion of our society. We have to pray for change. We have to pray for justice, which will likely include gathering together with people outside of our own traditions — be it other Christians, non-Christians, etc. We need all the help we can get.”
On the heels of last summer’s National Black Catholic Congress in Orlando, local participants organized the Black Catholic Leadership Initiative to put the congress’ themes into play with three focus areas: prayer, youths and justice. The meeting at St. Raphael provided an update of the group’s ongoing work as well as a spiritual retreat.
“The biggest point that we emphasize is use your heart, not [just] your head, in the conversation, so when somebody says ‘This is my experience,’ you don’t try and argue them out of it."
Twenty-six people from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were among more than 2,000 who attended the 12th National Black Catholic Congress July 6-9 in Orlando.
