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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 8, 2024—Agbonkhianmeghe E. (“Bator”) Orobator, S.J., the dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU), will be among the 364 voting members at the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops meeting this month in Rome. 

In addition, from Oct. 12-19, a group of 17 Santa Clara University (SCU) graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and staff from JST-SCU, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries will be in Rome for synod-related activities and participation in public synod events, as part of the Synodality CENTERS pilgrimage to Rome. 

Occurring in conjunction with the month-long meeting of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the CENTERS experience aims to create spaces for student participants, both undergraduate and graduate, to:

• participate in teach-ins on synodality
• meet with the secretaries of the office of the Synod as well as with major Catholic organizations working on various questions in contemporary ecclesial life
• dine and meet with Synod delegates from the around the world
• attend Wednesday's general audience with Pope Francis. 

In addition, on Sunday October 13, Santa Clara and JST-SCU students will have the opportunity to celebrate Mass in the historic rooms of Saint Ignatius, near the Church of the Gesù.

Among the participants, who are available to discuss their experience with media, will be:

• Elyse Raby, assistant professor of religious studies and SCU’s Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries
• Jenny Gerard Malley, assistant dean of student life at JST-SCU
• Undergraduate and graduate students (English and Spanish speakers) who could speak to a variety of issues, including:
• The role of women in the future of the Church
• The future of synodality as a method of discussing change in the Church  
• The synodal priority of creating a “preferential option for young people”
• How future Catholic lay leaders view the work of the synod
• Consecrated religious life and the laity
• Peace and healing within the Church and the wider world.
• The role of the Bible and synodality
• Inculturation in relationship to the global-local church tension.

Synod on Synodality

The culmination of years of dialogue and listening, the 2024 meeting of the Synod brings together bishops, archbishops, cardinals, priests, religious, and over 100 lay women, men, and young people invited by Pope Francis, to consider in shared discernment how the Holy Spirit is leading the Church to meet contemporary challenges and needs. After meeting this month, the members of the Synod will provide suggestions to Pope Francis for a possible papal publication on their findings. 

“From the outset, Pope Francis has expressed his wish for the synod to be an experience of hospitality, one that would allow people who feel alienated from the church or banished to the peripheries of the church’s pastoral care to rediscover a place where they can call home and feel they truly belong,” said Orobator. The Synod “itself is about mutual listening, where the Pope says everyone has something to learn. Interestingly, he doesn’t say everyone has something to say, but something to learn. It is all about listening to one another as well as listening to the Holy Spirit. Listening becomes an ecclesial moment, an ecclesial process, that we all engage in.”

About Dean Orobator 

Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J., is an internationally esteemed leader, having most recently finished serving as the president of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar. He is a prolific theologian, author, and speaker on many important topics relevant to our current moment, including leadership, increasing the inclusion and role of women in the Church, ecological stewardship, and human rights and dignity. As an influential Jesuit thinker and one of the most important international theological voices of our moment, Fr. Orobator brings passion and vision to the ongoing work of JST-SCU.

Orobator will be subject to Vatican constraints against interviews about internal synod discussions, but may be able to write short essays on the importance of the synod and some of the important emergent themes. 

Media wishing to interview Fr. Orobator,  students on the Rome immersion pilgrimage, or other experts from Santa Clara and JST should contact Deborah Lohse (dlohse@scu.edu) of Santa Clara University or Preston Carmack (pcarmack@scu.edu) of the Jesuit School of Theology. 

About the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
The Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, located in Berkeley, California, is a preeminent international center for the culturally contextualized study of theology. Its mission is to inspire and prepare men and women to become leaders in the Church, academy, and society, serving others through a faith that does justice. Rooted in the Catholic and Ignatian tradition, JST-SCU educates and trains Jesuits, religious, ordained, and lay students from across the United States and dozens of other countries for lives dedicated to ministry and scholarship.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit, Catholic University in the epicenter of Silicon Valley, infusing ethics and social consciousness into a rigorous cross-disciplinary education for its nearly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students.  

Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU | dlohse@scu.edu 
Preston Carmack | JST-SCU | pcarmack@scu.edu