Bishop of Plymouth urges parishes to develop ‘synodal’ councils and mission teams

Bishop Nicholas Hudson said England and Wales had been “quite synodal for some time. We are used to lay leadership of schools and Church charities; we are used to women being in leadership roles at all different levels of the Church”.

Addressing the Catholic Union at Buckfast Abbey, Devon on Saturday, he said: “When Pope Francis began to launch his vision on synodality, I was asked, in Westminster Diocese, to bring people together for us to seek to understand the vision”.  

Hudson, formerly auxiliary bishop of Westminster, recalled diocesan meetings where parishes, individuals and 20,000 school students were asked the question, “What is your experience of the Church?”

“What came across very forcibly was people’s love for the Church”, he said. “So many said, ‘It’s the first time that I’ve been asked for my opinion of the Church’. That was instructive for those of us leading those processes,” said Hudson who attended the synodal assemblies in Rome in 2024 and 2024.

Last Autumn, he heard Pope Leo speak on synodality during the Jubilee of synodal teams.  “He was clear that synodality is first and foremost a culture of listening,” said Hudson. While Leo XIV had said there was “no template for synodality”, he emphasized the need for “formation” on the subject.

Hudson appealed to Catholics to “hear the call” of the Synod’s final document to “see how” synodal “categories” like co-responsibility, transparency, evaluation and accountability might apply to the development of parish pastoral councils, finance councils and mission teams.

On arriving in Plymouth in November 2025, Hudson had been “impressed to find in place what was a synodal team in all but name – of four lay people, three of whom were women, and four priests” who had gathered to “discern”  decisions with the diocesan administrator prior to his arrival as bishop. “I’ve retained that team to help us work out together how we might grow to be more synodal as a diocese”, he added.

At noon last Saturday, Hudson presided at a Mass in Buckfast Abbey for the eternal repose of the soul of Ann Widdecombe MP. She lived nearby, attending Sunday Mass at the Abbey, which she regarded as her “spiritual home.”

Eighty members of the Catholic Union attended the annual summer gathering held on the Feast of St Benedict. Speakers included Lord Lemos, the Faith Minister, speaking in place of the Union’s president, Baroness Sheila Hollins who was unable to attend. The Abbot of Buckfast David Charlesworth OSB gave an address on the history of the Abbey. A rendition of Faure’s Requiem in the Abbey Church concluded the event.

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