Let us pray that the Church continue to sustain a synodal lifestyle in every way, as a sign of coresponsibility, promoting the participation, communion and mission shared by priests, religious and laity.
Pope Francis – October 2024
We Christians are all responsible for the Church’s mission. Every priest. Everyone.
We priests are not the bosses of the laity, but their pastors. Jesus called us, one and others – not one above others, or one on one side and others on another side, but complementing each other. We are community. That is why we need to walk together, taking the path of synodality.
Sure, you could ask me, What can I do as a bus driver? A farmer? A fisher? What all of us need to do is to witness with our lives. Be co-responsible for the Church’s mission.
The laity, the baptized are in the Church, in their own home, and need to take care of it. So do we priests and consecrated persons. Everyone contributes what they know how to do best. We are co-responsible in mission, we participate and we live in the communion of the Church.
Let us pray that the Church continue to sustain a synodal lifestyle in every way, as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, communion and mission shared by priests, religious and laity.
Credits
Campaign title:
The Pope Video – OCTOBER | For a shared mission
A project by Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
In collaboration with Vatican Media
Creativity and co-production by:
Benefactors
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PRESS RELEASE
Pope Francis: “We are all responsible for the Church’s mission”
- In his prayer intention for the month of October, Pope Francis invites us to pray for a “a synodal lifestyle as a sign of co-responsibility,” which promotes “the participation, communion and mission shared by priests, religious and laity.”
- As the General Assembly of the Synod begins, Pope Francis reaffirms that “priests are not the bosses of the laity, but their pastors” and that “Jesus called us, one and others – not one above others, or one on one side and others on another side, but complementing each other.”
- Whether someone is a “bus driver,” a “farmer,” or a “fisher,” the pope says the mission is the same in the Video that accompanies his prayer: “to witness with our lives,” “everyone contributing what they know how to do best.”
(Vatican City, 30 September 2024) – “For a shared mission” is the prayer intention chosen by Pope Francis for the month of October – a theme linked to the upcoming General Assembly of the Synod, about which Pope Francis reflects in his message entrusted to the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. He asks every Christian – laity, priests, religious – “to walk together, taking the path of synodality,” explaining that “we are co-responsible in mission, we participate and we live in the communion of the Church.”
The video accompanying his words was produced under the banner of synodality as well: the images were produced by the Diocese of Brooklyn, with the help of DeSales Media, the collaboration of the General Secretary of the Synod itself, and the support of Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa.
Working together
Whether someone is a “bus driver,” a “farmer,” or a “fisher,” Pope Francis underlines that the mission is the same: “to witness with one’s own life,” “everyone contributing what they know how to do best.” We work together in this co-responsibility, regardless of each person’s vocation. “Priests are not the bosses of the laity, but their pastors. Jesus called us, one and others – not one above others, or one on one side and others on another side, but complementing each other,” he explains at the beginning of his message. He then adds a little later, “the laity, the baptized are in the Church, in their own home, and need to take care of it. So do we priests and consecrated persons.”
A Shared Mission
The images accompanying Pope Francis’s message specifically portray the wealth of the holy people of God (Lumen Gentium, 12): the different ministers inside and outside the parishes, the distinct charisms, moments of life in common. The production of this video, on the part of the Diocese of Brooklyn, with the participation of a group of professional lay religious communicators, is an example of shared mission. “I’m so pleased to have DeSales Media selected to work on the October Pope’s video project. Through our partnership with DeSales Media, we have highlighted the contributions of the laity in our diocese and challenged the faithful to create a bold, joyful, and welcoming community of faith and service,“ said Bishop Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn. DeSales Media, a communications and media ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn, partnered with the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network to produce Pope Francis’s October message of shared responsibility. “Our team strives to live out our shared mission every day. As communications professionals, we have been called to put our talents and experience to work in the service of the Church,” said Dominic Ambrosio, Director of Programming and Production for DeSales Media. “We hope that our efforts producing this video will inspire others to share their talents and faith further.”
Synodality as lifestyle
In his address for the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis expressed that “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” This approach requires mutual listening and close collaboration among all the members of the Church. This is why in his prayer intention, the Pope invites us to pray that “the Church continue to sustain a synodal lifestyle in every way, as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, communion and mission shared by priests, religious and laity.”
A common call
Father Frédéric Fornos S.J., International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, reflects: “This month of October 2024 marks a crucial moment with the celebration of the Synodal Assembly in Rome, the culmination of a journey begun three years ago and laden with expectations, desires and hopes. In the midst of the spiritual battle that will inevitably be present, it is a time to listen to what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the Church. In The Pope’s Video, Pope Francis emphasizes what is essential: ‘We are co-responsible in mission.’ This approach, as the Pope points out, should be natural since all of us are baptized in Christ. Nevertheless, the fact that it took three years to become aware of this necessity reflects the challenges that faces the Church in its journey toward true synodality.
“As the Holy Father has recalled several times, ‘there will be no Synod without prayer.’ Only prayer can transform hearts attached to human traditions and selfish interests so that the Church will be more faithful to the Gospel. In this crucial month, the Pope invites us to unite ourselves in prayer for the Synod, so that it might be a true moment of encounter, mutual listening and communitarian discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit.”
The Pope Video this month is made possible thanks to the help of the Diocese of Brooklyn through the creative input of DeSales Media, the support of Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa, and the collaboration of the General Secretariat of the Synod. It is realized every month through the generous contributions of many people. You can donate by following this link.
Where can the video be seen?
- Official website of The Pope Video
- YouTube channel of The Pope Video
- Facebook page of The Pope Video
- The Pope Video on Twitter/X
- The Pope Video on Instagram
- The Pope on Twitter/X Verified @Pontifex
- The Pope on Instagram Verified @Franciscus
- Read the Vatican News’ article
About The Pope Video
The Pope Video is an official global initiative with the purpose of disseminating the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions. It is carried out by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer). Since 2016, The Pope Video has had more than 229 million views across all the Vatican’s social networks, and is translated into more than 23 languages, receiving press coverage in 114 countries. The videos are produced and created by The Pope Video Prayer Network team, coordinated by Andrea Sarubbi, and distributed by La Machi Communication for Good Causes. The project is sponsored by Vatican Media. More information: The Pope Video.
About the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Vatican foundation, with the mission of mobilizing Catholics through prayer and action in response to the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. These challenges are presented in the form of prayer intentions entrusted by the Pope to the entire Church. The foundation’s mission is inscribed in the dynamic of the Heart of Jesus, a mission of compassion for the world. Founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer, it is present in 89 countries, and is made up of more than 22 million Catholics. It includes a youth branch, the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM). In December 2020, the Pope constituted this pontifical work as a Vatican Foundation and approved its new statutes. Its international director is Fr. Frédéric Fornos, SJ. For more information, visit: popesprayer.va.
About the Diocese of Brooklyn
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn serves the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. It is presided by the eighth Bishop of Brooklyn, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan. Founded in 1853, the Diocese of Brooklyn sought to address the needs of the more than five million Irish Catholic immigrants who, tired and poor, arrived at the port of New York in search of a better life, many of whom settled in Brooklyn and Queens. Today, the Diocese of Brooklyn continues its vibrant and diverse history, home again to an immigrant population, this time driven by Hispanic, Asian, African and Eastern European migrants. Masses are regularly held in 26 different languages across the Diocese, throughout 175 parishes in over 200 churches. Within its borders is the seventh-largest Catholic school network in the United States, with 69 elementary schools and academies that educate 17,981 students. 9,880 Baptisms, 7,488 First Communions, 7,364 Confirmations, and 1,254 Catholic Marriages are celebrated annually. For more information: dioceseofbrooklyn.org
About DeSales Media
DeSales Media is a communications, technology, and media organization that strives to lead Catholics deeper into their faith through a data-driven approach to communications coupled with beautifully designed and engaging content. Our mission is to assist pastors, bishops, and Catholic organizations with the tools and support needed to optimize their formation, education, and evangelization work in a digital apostolic age. DeSales publishes The Tablet and Nuestra Voz and produces a nightly news show that reaches over 100,000 people on our 24/7 broadcast channel, NET TV. We support parishes and schools with a web-based platform to inspire and connect Catholics. For more information: desalesmedia.org
About Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa
Created in January 2024, Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa is a non-profit organization whose objective is to support the activities and international projects of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. This can be done in various ways: the organization and management of cultural, artistic and recreational activities; charitable initiatives favoring the most unfortunate: the promotion and protection of human, civil and social rights; supporting spiritual or missionary activities in the poorest and most marginalized areas of the world in which the work of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is carried out directly or through its local offices and parish groups of the Apostleship of Prayer or the Eucharistic Youth Movement. Lastly, the Foundation seeks to promote the importance of spirituality and prayer as effective tools to promote peace through specifically popular types of activities.
About the Synod on Synodality
The Synod on Synodality (2021-2024), treating the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission,” is intended as a Synodal Process. The aim of this synodal process is not to provide a temporary or one-time experience of synodality, but rather to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term. Synodality denotes the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church, expressing her nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. Synodality ought to be expressed in the Church’s ordinary way of living and working. For more information: synod.va/en/the-synod-on-synodality/what-is-the-synod-about
PRESS CONTACT
POPE’S WORLDWIDE PRAYER NETWORK – VATICAN CITY
PARTNERS
DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN and DE SALES MEDIA
Adriana Rodríguez
Press Secretary
FONDAZIONE PRO RETE MONDIALE DI PREGHIERA DEL PAPA
Gianluca Vignola
SYNOD ON SYNODALITY
Synod, Prayer, Ministry, Jesus, Faith, Christ, Laity, Pastors, Priests, Journey of Faith, Community, Mission, Union, Church, Commitment, The Pope Video