Synod study group proposes broader role for Catholics in bishops’ ad limina visits

VATICAN CITY — For centuries, “ad limina apostolorum” visits — the periodic pilgrimage of diocesan bishops to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul and their meetings with the successor of St. Peter — have often been perceived primarily through an administrative or canonical lens.

In response to the 2021–2024 synodal process, however, Study Group 7 of the Synod of Bishops has proposed a significant structural and spiritual renewal of the visits from what it describes as a “missionary synodal perspective.”

The study group is examining “Some Aspects of the Person and Ministry of the Bishop,” including criteria for selecting candidates for the episcopate, the judicial function of bishops, and the nature and course of ad limina visits.

A call for missionary synodality Rooted in Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium and the final document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the study group argues that the ad limina visit should go beyond routine administrative reporting.

As the synod’s final document states: “The visits ad limina Apostolorum are the apex of the relation between the Bishops of local Churches and the Bishop of…