General Secretariat of the Synod

Seventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

In Session: 1 - 30 October 1987

Synod Fathers: 232

Topic: “The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World”

Through a consideration of the concepts of vocation (“being”) and mission (“doing”) in the Vatican II context of Church communion, the Synod Fathers sought to emphasize the distinctive nature of the lay faithful in the Church’s life, in their sharing or communion in holiness and the Church’s work of evangelization in the world, in virtue of their secular character. Because of the topic, this Synod witnessed a significant presence of lay persons as Auditors, who were called upon to address the general assembly and share insights in the Small Groups. For the first time, a lay woman and man were appointed as Adjunct Special Secretaries. The information resulting from this Synod, particularly the 54 propositions of the General Assembly, were used in the formulation of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Christifideles laici” of 30 December 1988.

President-Delegates

S.Em.R. il Sig. Card. Eduardo Francisco Pironio, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per i Laici (Vaticano)
S.Em.R. il Sig. Card. Joseph Marie Trinh Văn Căn, Arcivescovo di Ha Nôi (Vietnam)
S.Em.R. il Sig. Card. Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, Arcivescovo Maggiore di Lviv degli Ucraini (Ucraina)

General Secretary

S.E.R. Mons. Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M., Arcivescovo tit. di Silli (Vaticano)

General Rapporteur

S.Em.R. il Sig. Card. Hyacinthe Thiandoum, Arcivescovo di Dakar (Senegal)

Special Secretary 

S.E.R. Mons. Pierre Eyt, Arcivescovo coadiutore di Bordeaux (Francia)

Documents of the Seventh Ordinary General Assembly 

• Esortazione Apostolica post-sinodale Christifideles laici (30 dicembre 1988)
  
  
  • [Francese, Inglese, Italiano,  Polacco, Portoghese, Spagnolo, Tedesco]

• CONCELEBRAZIONE CONCLUSIVA DEL SINODO DEI VESCOVI OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO II - 30 ottobre 1987
  • [ IT ]

• CONCELEBRAZIONE INAUGURALE PER IL SINODO DEI VESCOVI OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO II - 1° ottobre 1987
  • [ IT ]

• VII Sinodo dei Vescovi: "Instrumentum laboris"  (pdf esterno)