Synod listening sessions to be held across the diocese during Lent

Under the guidance of Pope Francis and in preparation for the second and final session of the ongoing Synod for the universal church scheduled for October 2024, every diocese in the world has been asked to host listening sessions for the public. The Diocese of Portland has scheduled three sessions on the following dates in the State of Maine:

Saturday, February 17, 10 am-11:30 am: Holy Rosary Parish Center, Caribou 

Saturday, March 2, 10 am -11:30 am: St. John the Baptist School Hall, Winslow 

Saturday, March 9, 10 am-11:30 am: St. Maximilian Kolbe Hall, Scarborough 

The Synod on Synodality is a three-year process of listening and dialogue on communion, participation, and mission for the Catholic Church. It began in October 2021 and concludes in October 2024.

A synod is, by definition, an assembly of clergy and laity in the Church. The intent of this current Synod of Synodality is not to be a one-time experience but an ongoing opportunity for discernment and collectively moving the Church forward.

Listening sessions are for Catholics, practicing and non-practicing, as well as non-Catholics to express their thoughts and reflections.

These planned listening sessions are an important part of this worldwide synodal process of engagement and collective commitment by people of God to grow and journey together.