Superiors General meet with Pope Francis after the Synod is concluded

On 22-24 November, for the first time in its history, the meeting of Superiors General took place at the "Fraterna Domus" Spirituality House in Sacrofano, Rome. 

Organised by the executive councils of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and the Union of Superiors General (USG), the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, Fr Alejandro Moral, joined around 240 others for these days of reflection and discernment shortly after the first session of the Synod of Bishops had drawn to a close.

"Synodality: A renewed call to the prophecy of Hope"

Testimonies, round table discussions, conferences and the echo of those who lived first-hand the synodal experience; then encounter, active participation and appreciation of the different cultural environments for the future of the Church, its challenges, difficulties and hopes on the path to synodality: these were, together with the private audience with Pope Francis, the main events that took place during this assembly, in which the Pope encouraged all to continue along the path of dialogue and towards unity. "During the two-hour meeting we had with the Holy Father, we were able to share all our concerns about current issues facing the Church," Fr Alejandro reported afterwards.

Following the audience, small breakout teams formed for the assembly were able to test the different themes related to the signs of hope that are seen today "in our society and in the Church", "where are the places that call to Hope?" and "what does the call to the prophecy of Hope mean?"

The UISG commented in its assembly release that this "event represents a commitment to religious life, offering participants the opportunity to share ideas, discern together and renew their commitment to create an ever more synodal Church." Subsequently, UISG confirmed that “difficulties have been openly faced and, above all, the hopefulness of this journey has been shared."