In their plenary session, a meeting with Pope Francis further affirmed the USIG members in their pledge to synodality. Francis set aside his prepared address and turned the agenda over to the assembled group. Francis listened to and entered into the concerns of the sisters. The Pope gave witness to the essential aspect of true synodality – listening and sharing from a position of shared vulnerability.
It is no surprise that the May 2-6, 2022 UISG plenary session resulted in a pledge by members to “live vulnerable synodality through service as a leader, animating it within the community and with the people of God.”
The new international leadership team of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur has lost no time in taking action to move ahead in fostering our congregation’s response to the call to fruitful synodality. In May, the entire SNDdeN congregation was invited by the leadership team to hear with them the insights of Sister Natalie Becquart regarding the role of religious in the Synod process and to be able to share this with each other and with those who are seeking to learn more about religious life.