The Parish as a Privileged Place of Synodality

Two years ago, I was appointed parish priest of the Immaculate Mary Parish, situated in Guará, a city in the Federal District of Brasilia, with a population of more than 120,000. In addition, the Cardinal of Brasília, Dom Paulo Cezar, also entrusted to me a chapel dedicated to Saint John Paul II, located in a neighborhood of 15,000 inhabitants and destined to become a parish in its own right.

From the outset, I understood that the path to follow without fear was the synodal one. In the recent Apostolic Letter A Fidelity that Generates the Future, Pope Leo XIV says: “The challenge of synodality, which does not eliminate differences but values them, remains one of the main opportunities for future priests.” (n. 22). The parish remains the place where many of the faithful live their faith, and for this reason it represents a natural context for genuine synodal practice.

In the community destined to eventually become a parish, I began thinking about the pastor who would one day take my place. With the certainty that the community remains long after a priest is assigned to another parish, I felt called by God to form ‘a well-prepared people’ (cf. Lk 1:17), one centered not on me personally, but on Christ Jesus, the true starting and finishing point of the synodal journey.

A further element was priestly fraternity.  There were archdiocesan groups of priests meeting monthly to pray, dialogue and help one another in our ministry. As Pope Leo XIV recalls in his Apostolic Letter and drawing on the Second Vatican Council: ‘together they contribute to “the same work” and carry out “the one priestly service,” all working “for the same purpose” even when engaged in different tasks’ (n. 20; cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 8). It was this spirit of fraternity that made the transformation of the Saint John Paul II chapel into a new parish possible.

Serving and Multiplying Talents

In this same apostolic letter, Pope Leo XIV also dwells on the relationship with the lay faithful, “among whom priests, with their specific responsibility, are brothers who share the same baptismal dignity… Instead of seeking to dominate or take on every task themselves, priests ‘must discover with faith the various humble and exalted charisms of the laity, among the other gifts of God which are found abundantly among the faithful’” (n. 20; cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9). I see this as a call to multiply talents (cf. Mt 25:14–30). Jesus calls us to multiply, not to bury.

The first effect of this approach was an all-encompassing joy and enthusiasm that generated in everyone a strong sense of belonging. The community was strengthened and grew with the arrival of new faithful who, attracted by the life they encountered, felt at home and wanted to engage with various groups there.

In this growth process, there was neither distrust nor insecurity. A fear of opening to the participation of the community in decision making was replaced by an intensely lived faith, and virtues practiced through a vibrant spirituality that was rooted in love for Christ and for the Church.

Synodality is sacramentally grounded in Baptism. All the faithful share in the threefold munus of Christ as priest, prophet and king, and are active subjects in this ecclesial mission. To give concrete expression to this principle and create genuine spaces of trust and co-responsibility, we established three service groups:

Pastoral Activities and Movements Group: Composed of two married couples, they visited all the groups gathering in the homes of the faithful. This transformed the community into a family and strengthened bonds of communion. From this listening process, pastoral priorities emerged and three new groups arose, including a Men’s Recitation of the Rosary, a youth group, and the pastoral care of hospitality.

Parish Management: This group is responsible for the care of human, material, financial and organizational resources for the future parish, in close communion with the pastor in order to ensure a balanced development.

Pastoral Care and Tithing: This group listened to the community to understand how to strengthen co-responsibility through tithing, which was to be understood not only as fundraising, but as spiritual formation leading to a conversion of heart and to educating in gratitude and mission. It brought a 30 percent rise in tithing.

I have understood through this journey that entrusting responsibilities to the laity is not a pragmatic concession dictated by a scarcity of clergy, but a theological requirement. The Holy Spirit distributes gifts among all, for the building up of Christ’s Body. The true protagonist is the Holy Spirit, and all are important: priests and faithful together in employing their gifts for the good of all.

In the parish, trust is built when laity are not only executors of tasks, but true participants in reflective, pastoral, and decision-making processes. Effective pastoral councils, discernment groups, and ministries entrusted with accompaniment, are hallmarks of a community that believes in the spiritual maturity of its faithful.

Listening: Soul of the Synodal Process

Listening is at the heart of the synodal journey. It is not simply gathering opinions but recognizing the voice of the Spirit through God’s People. This requires time, patience and interior conversion. It means listening to those who practice their faith, but also to those on the margins, the wounded, the poor, the young, and the elderly. The Church listens because it recognizes that it does not have all the answers and knows that the Lord continues to guide her through history toward the fullness of truth.

Pastorally, this requires creating an environment in which the faithful can speak freely without fear of being judged. This was the atmosphere at our pastoral meetings. A lay community council member proposed having moments of Eucharistic adoration as an indispensable help for the community’s growth until it became a parish. I accepted this proposal immediately and we experienced truly unforgettable moments which we lived together through these moments of adoration.

One risk of the synodal journey is reducing discernment to sociological mechanisms, such as voting or a simple search for consensus. Communal discernment is instead a spiritual act requiring prayer, listening to the Word of God, dialogue with the living tradition of the Church, and attentiveness to the signs of the times. Discerning together means asking: What is the Holy Spirit saying to our community today? Here, the priest has an irreplaceable role, not of decision master, but as a guarantor of communion and ecclesial fidelity.

Fruits for the Church

To speak of decentralization does not mean relativizing ordained ministry but purifying it. The presbyter remains what he is — shepherd, teacher and sanctifier — but he is freed from the temptation of being at the center of everything. Synodality invites him to assume a role of coordination, spiritual animation and accompaniment, not one of control. This decentralization, first and foremost, asks an interior conversion for a priest and calls him to trust, delegate, and walk with people. It signifies moving from ‘doing everything‘ to a ‘doing with‘ or ‘letting others do‘ logic instead.

A new parish

After a two-year journey, the new parish of St. John Paul II was created and inaugurated on February 7^th. It was by now a community of people ready to take care of God’s work, together with the priest. And, for me it felt like a relay race. Having done my part, I could pass the baton to another parish priest. As priests, we need fidelity in the present, without losing sight of fidelity to the future. It signifies a sowing today, so others may reap tomorrow.

Conclusion

The synod in the parish is not an optional project, but a faith filled journey to the Spirit who guides the Church today. By focusing on listening, community discernment and lay co-responsibility, parishes become spaces of living communion and shared mission. The decentralization of priests is not a loss, but a spiritual gain. And ordained ministry finds its truth when it generates communion, trust and maturity in God’s People.