On Saturday, 17 October, representatives from across Ireland will gather in Gormanstown, Co. Meath, for a National Synodal Assembly. For the Church in Ireland, it will be a very significant moment, the high point so far of a journey that began five years ago.
It is a journey that has taken place not only in diocesan centres and national gatherings, but in parish halls, meeting rooms, homes and communities across the country. Here in Clare, many people have given generously of their time, energy and experience to this process. I am deeply grateful to all who took part.
At the heart of the journey has been a simple but profound question: What is the Holy Spirit asking of us as the People of God and as the Church in Ireland today? It is a question worth asking, particularly at a time when the Church, like our wider society, is experiencing considerable change.
The Irish Synodal Pathway has invited us to listen – to God and to one another. It has encouraged us to share our experiences, our hopes and our concerns for the future of the Church. It has also challenged us to listen to voices that perhaps we do not always hear as clearly as we should.
That listening has been very much part of our experience here in the Diocese of Killaloe. One of the great strengths of our diocese is the commitment of people to their local parish communities. From the smallest rural church to our larger urban parishes, there remains a remarkable generosity of spirit and a willingness to support one another. We see it in the people who prepare our churches, welcome others at Mass, serve on parish councils, work with children and young people, visit the sick and housebound, organise pilgrimages and prayer groups, and quietly get on with the many things that keep parish life alive.
Clare people, as we know, are not generally slow to express an opinion either! That too can be a gift. A synodal Church needs people who are prepared to speak honestly and openly. But it also needs people who are prepared to listen carefully to others and to allow themselves to be changed by what they hear. That is the real spirit of synodality. It is not simply about having meetings. It is not about everyone reaching agreement on every issue. And it is certainly not about producing another set of documents which will quietly gather dust on a shelf.
It is about learning how to walk together.
The journey has moved through a number of important stages. Baptised and Sent identified significant areas for reflection and renewal and provided a framework for much of the conversation that followed. From there, the national process has continued its journey of prayer, listening and discernment, leading to the five pathways which have now been discerned by the National Synodal Pathway team.
The representatives from County Clare who will attend the Assembly will carry with them something of our local experience. They will represent the Diocese of Killaloe and, in a particular way, the hopes, questions and aspirations that have emerged from our parishes and communities.
I am very grateful to them for accepting that responsibility. Their task is not simply to speak on our behalf but, above all, to listen on our behalf. I hope they will come home from Gormanstown with a renewed sense of where the Spirit may be leading the Church and with a deeper appreciation of the many gifts that exist within our own diocese.
There will, naturally, be hopes and expectations surrounding the National Assembly. People will rightly ask what will come from it and what difference it will make. But perhaps the most important outcome will be something deeper than any particular decision. Will we have grown as a Church in our capacity to listen? Will we have become more attentive to those who sometimes feel on the margins? Will we have grown in our ability to recognise the gifts that God has placed among us? And will we have become more courageous in sharing the Gospel in the Ireland of today?
The synodal journey is not coming to an end in Gormanstown. Indeed, in many ways, it is only another important stage on the road ahead.
The Church is a pilgrim people. We do not have every answer in advance. We walk together, trusting that Christ walks with us and that the Holy Spirit continues to guide and inspire the Church.
As the Diocese of Killaloe looks towards 17 October, I invite you to pray for those who will represent us. Pray that they will be blessed with open hearts, attentive minds and generous spirits. Pray that they will listen well, speak honestly and discern wisely. And perhaps most importantly, let us pray for the grace to trust the Holy Spirit.
The faith of the people of Clare has deep roots. It has been carried through generations, through good times and difficult times, and has found expression in our parishes, our families and our communities. It is a faith that is often quietly lived rather than loudly proclaimed – in the care shown to a neighbour, in the welcome given to a stranger, in the commitment of volunteers and in the simple faithfulness of those who continue to gather Sunday after Sunday.
That is something precious, and it is something we must cherish as we look to the future. The Spirit who breathed life into the first Christian communities has not abandoned the Church. The same Spirit is at work among us today, in our parishes, our families and communities, in the young and the old, and in all those who continue to hope for a Church that is renewed and alive with the Gospel.
So, as our representatives from Clare make their way to the assembly, let us send them with our prayer and our encouragement. May they carry with them something of the warmth, honesty, faith and good humour of the people of Clare. May they listen well and return with renewed hope for the road ahead. And may we in the Diocese of Killaloe continue that journey together – not knowing every turn in the road, but confident in the One who walks with us. That, I believe, is a journey worth making together.
Fintan Monahan – Bishop of Killaloe
Clare Champion article, Friday, 16th of October 2026
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