The Synod of Bishops for
at the
The Church in
justice and peace
You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world
(Matthew 5:13,14)
The Instrumentum Laboris (2009) (a working document for the synod)
The Lineamenta (2006) (sets priorities)
The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (1995)
O Mary, Mother of God
and Mother of the Church,
thanks to you, on the day of the Annunciation,
at the dawn of the new era,
the whole human race with its cultures
rejoiced in recognizing itself
ready for the Gospel.
On the eve of a new Pentecost
for the Church in Africa, Madagascar
and the adjacent Islands,
the People of God with its Pastors
turns to you and with you fervently prays:
May the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
make of the cultures of Africa
places of communion in diversity,
fashioning the peoples of this great Continent
into generous sons and daughters
of the Church
which is the Family of the Father,
the Brotherhood of the Son,
the Image of the Trinity,
the seed and beginning on earth of the eternal Kingdom
which will come to its perfection
in the City that has God as its Builder:
the City of justice, love and peace.