Synod study group proposes commission to assess ‘ad limina’ visits
Study Group 7 of the Synod on Synodality released a nine‑page report on September 8 calling for an independent commission to evaluate bishops’ ad limina visits. The report also recommends online follow‑up meetings between bishops and Roman Curia officials to discuss issues raised during the visits. It acknowledges that sweeping changes to the ad limina process may be impractical due to the curia’s existing workload. The proposal is part of a broader effort by Pope Francis’s 10 study groups to improve the mission‑oriented perspective of the Church’s synodal work.
19 days ago
Study Group 7 of the Synod of Bishops has proposed reshaping bishops’ ad limina apostolorum visits into broader exercises of missionary discernment, dialogue, and shared responsibility. Its recommendations include greater participation by Catholics in preparing and receiving the visits, new Vatican coordination mechanisms, online follow-up meetings, safeguarding discussions, and an independent commission to evaluate the process. 1
The study group’s nine-page report responds to the 2024 synod’s request that ad limina visits become more meaningful opportunities for “open exchange and mutual listening.” The visits are described as the high point of the relationship between local bishops, the pope, and the Roman Curia. 1
The group argues that the visits should not focus primarily on administrative matters that can be handled through ordinary contacts with Vatican offices. Instead, they should support the missionary conversion of pastoral ministry and help local Churches share how they proclaim the Gospel in their own cultural circumstances. 1
The proposal grounds this vision in the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of the Church as both the People of God and a communion of Churches. In this framework, local Churches would exchange experiences with Rome while the pope exercises his role of preserving unity and encouraging bishops. 1
A central recommendation is that preparation for an ad limina visit should involve the wider Catholic community rather than being handled mainly by the bishop and diocesan officials. Bishops would be encouraged to convene the People of God to help prepare the preliminary report through prayer, participation, and ecclesial discernment. 1
The process could include priests, deacons, religious men and women, and lay Catholics, particularly through existing diocesan bodies such as presbyteral and pastoral councils. The group says the visit should be understood as an event concerning, as far as possible, all members of the local Church. 1
The study group also considers it desirable for a diocesan delegation to accompany the bishop to Rome, with preference given to people who helped prepare the visit. After returning, the bishop and delegates would report publicly to the diocese and help identify pastoral steps arising from the encounter. 1
The report proposes replacing the existing questionnaire with a format that relies less on statistics, is more specifically adapted to each local Church, and gives bishops greater opportunity to explain what they hope to accomplish during the visit.
It also calls for a new interdicasterial coordinating body under the Prefecture of the Papal Household. The body would manage logistical matters and oversee implementation of reforms, while receiving input from the Secretariat of State and the General Secretariat of the Synod to preserve the process’s synodal character.
The report acknowledges that some proposed changes could substantially increase the workload of the Roman Curia. It also notes that the traditional five-year cycle is no longer realistic because of the pope’s growing commitments and the increasing number of local Churches worldwide; it expresses hope that visits could occur at least every eight years.
Study Group 7 envisions the Roman meetings as reciprocal conversations rather than one-way briefings. The exchanges should identify both the strengths and needs of local Churches and encourage the sharing of effective pastoral practices. 1
When a visit raises issues requiring further discussion, the report proposes online meetings or visits to local Churches by curial representatives. It specifically recommends a mid-term online meeting between one ad limina visit and the next to assess progress and address continuing difficulties.
Safeguarding would also become an integral part of the process. Bishops would be asked to submit a specific report for discussion in Rome, including with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
The study group recommends establishing an independent ecclesiastical commission at regular intervals to evaluate the entire ad limina process. Its review would include the work of the proposed coordinating body and the relevant Vatican institutions, with the aim of ensuring that the visits serve their intended purpose.
The commission is presented as an assessment mechanism rather than as a new permanent study group. The report itself is a working document, and Vatican officials will review the study groups’ recommendations before presenting possible measures to Pope Leo XIV, who will decide whether to enact them.
Study Group 7 was established in 2024 after the first session of the synod’s assembly and was led by German Bishop Felix Genn. Its members included then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, along with Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Mario Grech, Claudio Gugerotti, and Jean-Claude Hollerich.
The group has also worked on the selection of bishops and is continuing a third assignment concerning the judicial function of bishops. Its report on ad limina visits is one of the study-group documents being reviewed as part of the synod’s implementation phase.
Evaluate the mission-oriented nature of bishops’ ad limina visits
Bishops’ ad limina Apostolorum visits are intrinsically mission-oriented, not merely administrative or ceremonial. Their purpose is to renew communion with the Successor of Peter so that bishops can serve more effectively the evangelizing mission of their particular Churches and of the universal Church.
The visits begin with pilgrimage to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, recalling the apostolic faith witnessed by their martyrdom. They culminate in meeting the Pope and the Roman Curia. This structure shows that mission is rooted in apostolic continuity, not in isolated diocesan initiatives.
The visit is therefore more than an exchange of reports. It strengthens episcopal collegiality—the bishops’ shared responsibility for the whole Church—and fosters a “unity in diversity” between local Churches and the universal Church. Mission is understood as a common ecclesial responsibility: the bishops cooperate with the Pope for the good of the entire Church and, consequently, of each particular Church.
The missionary character is also reciprocal. Bishops bring to Rome the experiences, challenges, projects, and pastoral insights of their people; the Apostolic See offers guidance, encouragement, and support. Pastor Bonus describes this as a permanent communication involving shared pastoral concern rather than one-directional supervision.
This reciprocity is important because evangelization must take account of concrete cultures and circumstances. The local Churches contribute their particular gifts to the universal Church, while communion with Rome helps ensure that local pastoral adaptation remains faithful to the unity of faith and discipline.
The Pope’s role is explicitly connected with supporting the bishops’ apostolic ministry. The visit gives bishops an opportunity to deepen their awareness as successors of the Apostles, while the Pope takes up with them the task of sustaining their mission.
This support is not merely personal encouragement. Praedicate Evangelium presents the visit as a moment in which the Pope discusses the good of the Churches and the bishops’ pastoral responsibilities, confirming and strengthening them in faith and charity. In practical terms, meetings with the Roman Curia allow bishops to address common pastoral problems and receive assistance for their diocesan work.
The connection between communion and evangelization is explicit. The Church’s “mission on behalf of communion” must be expressed in a dynamic directed toward evangelization, with concrete priorities such as youth ministry, sacramental pastoral care, and the reorganization of diocesan structures.
The visits also reinforce the shared responsibility of the bishops’ college to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. The Petrine ministry serves the Church’s mission by promoting unity of faith and discipline, while the bishops, strengthened in communion, carry that mission into their own territories.
The testimony concerning bishops from Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone illustrates this concretely: the Holy See shares the burdens of their office and offers solidarity so that they can fulfill their mission of proclaiming Christ.
The strongest feature of the ad limina system is that it prevents mission from becoming either purely local or merely bureaucratic. It links evangelization with:
Its effectiveness, however, depends on how the visits are conducted. If reduced to statistical reporting or administrative compliance, their missionary meaning is weakened. The official understanding insists that they are primarily moments of pastoral communion, shared discernment, and support for the proclamation of Christ—not simply inspections or information-gathering exercises.
Accordingly, an authentically mission-oriented visit should result in clearer pastoral priorities, greater cooperation among Churches, renewed episcopal courage, and concrete initiatives for evangelization. The visit’s success is measured not by the formality of the Roman meetings but by whether communion with Peter strengthens the bishop’s service to the faithful and the Church’s witness to the world. The Pope’s ministry is specifically described as promoting universality, protecting legitimate diversity, guaranteeing unity, and confirming bishops in their apostolic ministry.
In summary, ad limina visits are mission-oriented precisely because they are communion-oriented. For Catholic ecclesiology, communion is not an end detached from evangelization: it is the ecclesial condition that equips bishops and their Churches to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and effectively.