“Missionary Institutes and Synodality - Charism, Prophecy, and Witness”

We, seventy missionaries, members of thirty Missionary Institutes, representing thirty-two nationalities across all continents, were lay men and women, Religious brothers, sisters and priests, who gathered in the serene and spiritually resonant setting of Centro Ad Gentes in Nemi, outside Rome, for the 2025 SEDOS Residential Seminar. The time we shared was a profound witness to the Church’s intercultural, international and intergenerational richness and to the possibility of unity in diversity in our increasingly polarized world.

Through mutual listening, prayer, and creative engagement, marked by the joy of walking together, we searched for the paths of tomorrow’s mission — rooted in the Gospel, in response to the cries of the earth and of people who are made poor.

In the face of today’s global chaos — marked by war, hunger, violence, and environmental disaster — we feel a renewed urgency to serve as instruments of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. An appeal resounds among us: to intensify our prayer and take courageous action, both personally and collectively, to help build a world where hope, dialogue, and communion are real and tangible.

With one voice, we join Pope Leo XIV in his urgent plea: “Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible.” We echo his call to all those in power — to use that power not to destroy, but to bring peace; not to divide, but to reconcile; not to kill, but to protect life. To put an end to all war and killing so that peace may dwell in our hearts, in our communities, and reign in our world.

As missionary men and women, we reaffirm our commitment to the shared journey of synodality — locally and universally. We pray that the Church may increasingly become a bridge of unity and healing for humanity and all of God’s creation.

May our tender and loving God bless our mission and all our efforts to remain prophetic witnesses of God’s merciful love, on this synodal journey.