NJ Bishops discuss consecrated life, synodality in joint meeting with superiors

The Catholic bishops of the state met Dec. 6 with some 60 superiors or their delegates of mens’ and womens’ orders of consecrated life doing apostolic works in the ecclesiastical province of New Jersey. 

Given the proximity of the recent synod in Rome, the bishops and religious chose as their theme "Consecrated Life in a Synodal Church: Resources and Realities.” Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word (CCVI) Teresa Maya was invited by the group to give the days’ presentation on the concept of Synodality and to coordinate conversation among participants in small groups. 

Held in St. David the King Church and Parish Hall, West Windsor, the Dec. 6 event was the final meeting of 2024 for the bishops from the five dioceses and one eparchy of the province, who gather quarterly each year as the New Jersey Catholic Conference to discuss matters of interest or common concern to the Catholic Church here. Chaired by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Newark, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the meetings are usually held in a different diocese each time. The agenda for each NJCC meeting is solicited from among the bishops and then prepared by James King, the Conference’s executive director.

The day began with the regularly scheduled First Friday Parish Mass at which Trenton’s Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., was celebrant and homilist, joined at the altar by his brother bishops. More than 100 St. David parishioners attended the Mass.  
Following Mass, the bishops and religious leaders moved to the parish hall for the keynote presentation and small group discussions.  The bishops went into their board meeting in the afternoon. 

The joint meetings between the bishops and the Major Superiors of Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life in the province are typically held every 2-3 years. The last meeting was held in 2019. This year’s meeting with religious was organized by Bishop Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.S.B., auxiliary bishop of Newark, who shared in a recent facebook post: "Mutual relations between bishops and religious, carried out sincerely and readily, will be of great value in achieving the dynamic vitality of the Church-Sacrament in its admirable mission of salvation" (Mutuae Relationes, April 23, 1978).

Sister Teresa has been a member of her congregation, based in San Antonio, Texas, since 1994.   Her education ministry has spanned several decades and she is a frequently sought after speaker on religious life.  Sister Teresa currently serves as an administrator/consultant for the Catholic Health Association.