Our Holy Father Pope Francis is calling on all the People of God from around the world to participate in the upcoming Synod of 2023, entitled, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.” The purpose of the synod is primarily to listen, as the entire People of God, to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. We accomplish this by listening to the Word of God and living Tradition of the Church, and then by also listening to one another to discern how we can more effectively live out our mission of evangelization. These synodal consultations in the Diocese will be called “Encounter Sessions” and will provide the opportunity for as many people as possible to participate in every parish. The results will be forwarded to the Diocese.

St. Patrick’s “Encounter Session” will be on Saturday, March 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The place will be determined later by how many people sign-up. Participation in the synodal consultation is also possible online through the diocesan website for those unable to attend in person. Please join us in this important moment in the Church’s life.

We will begin registration for our Encounter Session next weekend with sign-up sheets in the back of the Church. You can also register by calling the Parish office 361.855.7391, ONLINE or the Religious Education office 361.855.7567. Our parish facilitators for this process will be Jim and Linda West and Marian Rose Swetish. Your pre-registration will allow us to prepare the necessary materials for the sessions. Once all the parishes have sent in the results of their sessions and they have been processed, we will have a follow up session to review and discuss the input from around the diocese. Discernment Session will be Saturday, April 23rd, also 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

For more information, please visit the Diocese of Corpus Christi