The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has approved a special ecclesial assembly for October 2028 to evaluate how Catholic communities worldwide have implemented the recently concluded Synod on Synodality recommendations.

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, detailed the plans in a letter to bishops worldwide, emphasizing that this gathering will not constitute a new synod but rather serve as the culmination of a structured three-year implementation process.

“The goal is not to add work upon work but to help Churches walk in a synodal style,” Grech wrote.

The cardinal further said that local Churches would actively receive and apply the synod’s final document, which Pope Francis directly approved following the conclusion of the synod in October 2024.

The new implementation timeline begins in May with the publication of detailed guidelines, followed by a “Jubilee of Synodal Teams” in October.

Throughout 2027, evaluation assemblies will take place at diocesan, national, and international levels, with continental gatherings scheduled for early 2028.

Grech highlighted the essential role of local “synodal teams” composed of “priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and laypeople” working alongside their bishops. These teams, he noted, should be “valued” and, where necessary, “renewed, reactivated, and appropriately integrated.”

“This process does not diminish the role of each Church in receiving and applying the fruits of the synod in its own unique way,” the cardinal wrote. “Rather, it encourages a great co-responsibility that values local Churches while associating the episcopal college with the pope’s ministry.”

Grech concluded his letter with an invitation for prayers for Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14.

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.

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