NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Tuesday will call together an archdiocesan synod, the first such convocation of Catholics in New Orleans since 1987.
The New Orleans Advocate reported (https://bit.ly/1qX23PZhistory) Aymond’s call will come after the annual Chrism Mass at St. Louis Cathedral.
It will begin a 13-month process of public input resulting in a plan for how the archdiocese will minister over the next three to five years.
The Chrism Mass is held annually in the week before Easter. At the Mass, Aymond will bless the holy oils to be used in the coming year. A ceremony opening what officially is called the Ninth General Synod of the Archdiocese of New Orleans will follow.
Catholics may participate through a series of sessions throughout the archdiocese in the coming months.
Aymond will attend all 16 sessions, 13 of which are open to the public.
He said attendees will answer three questions: “What are we doing well as a church, what are we doing that we could be doing better and what are we not doing that we should be doing?”
The synod will end with a report on its conclusions on Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2015.
The last synod of the archdiocese took place from 1984 to 1987 under Archbishop Philip Hannan.
Aymond, a New Orleans native who worked in the archdiocese until he became a bishop in Austin, Texas, in 2000, was present for that synod.
The New Orleans archdiocese covers New Orleans and the parishes of Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Plaquemines and Washington.
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Information from: The New Orleans Advocate, https://www.neworleansadvocate.com
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