Over the next few months, we will prepare for our Diocesan Assembly, a time of prayerful reflection on ministry in our Diocese and its parishes. In place of my regular column, I’ll use this space to invite reflection and share information on what I hope will assist us in preparing for the parish and diocesan assemblies, and ultimately in bringing about the renewal of the Church in Rhode Island.
As part of the introduction to the Three Pathways, One Mission, document that I shared with you in May 2026, I described some of the reasons for taking on this endeavor, namely, the rapid change in episcopal leadership over three years, the lingering effects of COVID, and the local and national challenges that many face daily. To deepen our reflection, it may be helpful to review how each of the Popes understood the necessity of renewal and its goals over the past decades.
In January of 1999, Pope St. John Paul II published his Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in America. It was a synthesis of the Synod of Bishops special assembly called to address evangelization, human rights, economic inequality, and religious identity across North and South America.
In writing on the Synod for America, our Holy Father touched on various elements of Church life, among them he highlighted parishes. He described the parish as a privileged place where the baptized concretely experience the reality of the Church. Acknowledging that parishes across the American continent face distinct structural and pastoral difficulties in fulfilling their mission, he called for continuous parish renewal centered on the core principle that the parish must primarily remain a Eucharistic community.
This foundational principle requires parishes to be welcoming places of community and collaboration. They must serve as vital centers for Christian initiation, lifelong faith formation, and liturgical celebration, while remaining entirely open to a full range of diverse charisms, ministries, and services. Ultimately, Ecclesia in America states that a truly renewed parish must be organized in a communal, responsible manner and actively driven by a missionary dynamism that compels it to reach out to those who have drifted far from our Lord and his Church.
In the decades following the publication of Ecclesia in America, the Church across the country witnessed the birth of a number of powerful and effective ministries. These have served the mission of parish renewal very well. Among them are Christ Life, Alpha, Christ Renews His Parish, Rebuilt, and The Rescue Project. While these may not have been direct responses to the Holy Father’s 1999 apostolic exhortation, they certainly answer the call. Parishes are being renewed.
The call to renewal continued with Pope Benedict XVI. In his three-book series Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict reminded pastors and parish leaders to avoid getting bogged down in bureaucratic administration. He emphasized that the Word of God and the Eucharist are the only true measures of parish success. He cautioned that a parish cannot “manufacture” community or vocations through organizational techniques and strategies alone. True renewal is only possible when the parish anchors itself in Jesus Christ.
Further, Pope Benedict urged parishes to foster a well-structured form of lay engagement so that the spiritual and administrative life of the community is shared, rather than resting solely on the shoulders of overworked priests. He explicitly stated that the Catholic laity should not be viewed merely as “collaborators” of the clergy. Instead, he argued that parishioners must be recognized as “co-responsible” for the Church’s mission and ministry.
More recently, Pope Francis called for the renewal of parishes in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). In section 28, he wrote that “the parish is not an outdated institution”. He stressed that if a parish is capable of “self-renewal and constant adaptivity,” it will continue to be the primary presence of the Church in people’s daily lives. He challenged parishes to move away from administrative maintenance and instead become “completely mission-oriented” centers of evangelization.
Pope Leo XIV in his very recent catechesis on Sacrosanctum Concilium spoke of renewal and reminded us that we are renewed annually through our observance and celebration of the liturgical calendar which guides us in prayerful reflection through the mysteries of Salvation. As he put it, “The encounter with Jesus, who died and rose again for us, is the purpose that the Church always pursues, placing the celebration of the Paschal event at the center of every moment.”
The Holy Father makes the point well, “The liturgical year thus repeats… In it, the Church celebrates the salvific relevance of the mystery of Christ, enabling believers to participate in it ever more deeply. For this reason, the liturgical year constitutes the guiding principle and the essential framework for all pastoral action.”
It is in this spirit that Three Pathways, One Mission was conceived, to heed the call to renewal put forth by the Successors of Peter, who insist that the need is great and the time is now.
Each of us, according to our own vocation, continues the mission of Jesus Christ. Crib, Cross, and Eucharist form the paschal pattern of that ministry. How we approach evangelization – liturgical prayer, the celebration of sacraments and faith formation, community building, social service and outreach – is enlivened by this dynamic. In each instance, we enter into the experience of the other; we take on their burdens as our own; we journey with them toward transformation and redemption, leading them to our Lord and his Church. The Incarnation, the Cross, and the Eucharist are truly a blueprint for the renewal of our Diocese, its parishes and ministries.
Suggested reading:
Ecclesia in America, January 22, 1999 – Pope St. John Paul II
Evangelii Gaudium, 2013 - Pope Francis
For more information, visit evangelizeri.org/3pathways
