Major seminaries in Southern Africa work to embed synodality in priestly formation

Major seminary rectors from across Southern Africa are meeting in Pretoria to develop a curriculum for priestly formation that emphasizes listening, communal discernment, and shared responsibility. The five-day workshop, held from October 26 to 30 at the Padre Pio Retreat Centre, aims to integrate these practices into training as the Church continues the Synod on Synodality.

The African Synodality Initiative organized the gathering in collaboration with the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa. The workshop includes rectors from the six episcopal conferences within the inter-regional meeting: the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé, the Lesotho Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Namibia Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique, the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Caroline Kavita, the program coordinator for the African Synodality Initiative, stated that seminary formation is a vital part of the synodal process because future priests will lead pastoral communities. Since Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality in 2021, the initiative has worked with various groups across Africa and Madagascar and has included the formation of more than 800 seminarians.