Catholic churches in Europe aim to give their synodal process a more concrete direction next week in Austria. Around 180 bishops, delegates, and theologians from over 30 countries will convene in Wels from September 14 to 17. Delegations from 28 bishops' conferences, including 23 bishops and two cardinals, will discuss a roadmap for the further implementation of synodality in Europe.
Synodality is considered the most important reform project of the Catholic Church in a long time. It refers to a Church that engages in more collaborative consultation, listening, and decision-making, thereby involving the entire People of God. The reform project originated in Rome: Pope Francis (2013-2025) initiated this path with the Synod on Synodality. Following the extensive consultations in Rome, the implementation phase is now underway until 2028. This phase will demonstrate how the often abstract guiding principles can be put into practice in dioceses, parishes, and other church structures.
This is the starting point for the four-day symposium in Wels. Delegations from 28 European bishops' conferences, spanning East and West, aim to develop a common roadmap for Europe. The meeting also serves as preparation for the European Church Assembly in spring 2028, which will precede the worldwide Church Assembly in October of the same year. Among the participants are Sister Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the Synod Secretariat; Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, General Rapporteur of the World Synod; and canon lawyer Myriam Wijlens, all of whom closely monitor the global Church process from Rome.
Central and Eastern Europe strongly represented
Central and Eastern Europe is strongly represented at the conference, which has 187 participants. The President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, comes from Lithuania, and his Vice President, Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, from Serbia. Among the moderators and speakers are also voices from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Croatia; Ukraine is also represented in the program. Klara Csiszar, a pastoral theologian from Linz, born in Romania as part of the Hungarian minority, heads the Department of Synodality at the Catholic Private University of Linz and is a member of the CCEE's European Synodality Task Force.
What is the situation in Wels?
The symposium follows three thematic lines. The opening session focuses on baptism and liturgy as the foundations of synodal church life. The second day examines Europe's conflicts and upheavals, including war, polarization, nationalism, migration, digitalization, ecumenism, and catechesis. The third day explores structures, offices, and decision-making processes that can sustainably uphold the equal dignity and shared responsibility of all the baptized.
Among the key voices are the Prague theologian Tomáš Halík, who will give a lecture on “Listening to Europe”; the German Jesuit Christoph Theobald, who works in Paris, on the theology of baptism; and Myriam Wijlens on leadership, mission, and church structures. Conversations “in spirit,” workshops, and fishbowl discussions will connect the lectures with experiences from local churches. Finally, Csiszar and Cardinal Nemet will present the collected insights as the basis for a European “roadmap.”
Before the start of the conference, Cardinal Hollerich, Cardinal Nemet, Bishop Manfred Scheuer of Linz, and Csiszar will address the press on Monday morning in Linz. The focus will be on how local churches can practically implement synodality after the World Synod. The press conference is titled "Cultural Change in the Church? – European Church Leaders Meet in Wels."
The conference is organized by the Department of Synodality of the Catholic Private University of Linz together with the European Task Force for Synodality and under the auspices of the CCEE; the Council of European Bishops' Conferences is an association of the presidents of the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conferences in Europe and covers the entire continent from Iceland to Russia.