Vatican opens formation course for 147 newly appointed bishops
The Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Evangelization are running parallel courses from September 2 to 10 covering liturgy, sexual abuse, diocesan administration and interreligious dialogue, closing with an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
A formation course for newly appointed bishops opened at the Vatican on September 2 and runs through Thursday, September 10, with more than 140 bishops from around the world taking part. The course has been held every September since 2000. It is meant to give the bishops a chance to talk and share what they have learned, and to offer guidance for their ministry in their own particular Churches.
The course is organized jointly by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Evangelization. Topics include liturgy, mission, sexual abuse, new sects, diocesan administration, justice and transparency. Sessions will also cover synodality, tribalism, priestly formation, the crisis of the clergy and interreligious dialogue. This year 147 bishops are enrolled in the two programs, which run in parallel. They come from countries including India, Congo, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand.
Of those taking part, 98 are attending the Dicastery for Bishops course, titled "In Christ, Custodians of the Magnifica Humanitas in Times of Transformation." The other 49 are at the course run by the Dicastery for Evangelization, titled "Servants of Communion in the Church." Both include sessions led by heads of the Roman Curia, bishops and archbishops, along with liturgical celebrations, dinners and scheduled times of "fraternal dialogue." The course closes with an audience with Pope Leo XIV on September 10.
Sessions on child protection and pastoral ministry
The Dicastery for Bishops program opens on the evening of September 2 with a lecture by Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The next day Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, will speak on the episcopal ministry, and Msgr. Vittorio Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, will speak on the liturgy. The afternoon session includes discussion groups divided by language and a meeting with the dicastery's superiors.
On September 4, Msgr. Luis Javier Argüello García, president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, will speak on the mission of the pastor in family and social life. The evening session will focus on child protection, a culture of prevention and the pastoral handling of abuse cases, with an address by Msgr. Thibault Verny, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. That same afternoon, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, will speak on the work of the Holy See in a globalized world and on its peace initiatives.
Formation in evangelization and interreligious dialogue
The Dicastery for Evangelization course begins on September 3 at the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle in Rome. Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle will officially welcome the participants, and Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu will give a talk on tribalism, casteism, racism and regionalism in the Church today. Later sessions will cover practical matters such as the discipline of the clergy, consecrated life and the management of diocesan property.
On September 4 the course turns to faith and inculturation, with Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad speaking on interreligious dialogue today. September 5 will be devoted to legal competence in episcopal governance, with presentations on diocesan structures and the canonical handling of cases involving grave offenses. The day will also take up pastoral accompaniment and integral formation in the care of the People of God.
Pilgrimage to Assisi and closing papal audience
On September 7 the participants will have the chance to make a pilgrimage to Assisi, as part of the Jubilee Year marking 800 years since the passing of St. Francis of Assisi. The program resumes on September 8 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University with a presentation of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica humanitas, a document setting out the pope's thinking on humanity and change in the Church. The day ends with a Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, presided over by Cardinal Baldassare Reina.
On September 10 there will be a Mass and the veneration of the relics of the Apostle at St. Peter's Basilica, followed by the audience with Pope Leo XIV, which closes the course.
