Empowering African Clergy for Peace: Synodal Peacebuilding Empowerment Course to be Held in Kenya in July 2025.

The Focolare Centre of Inculturation in Africa, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Vatican, announce the Synodal Peacebuilding Empowerment Course for Parish Priests in Africa, scheduled to take place from July 6th to 27th, 2025, at Mariapolis Piero, Juja, Kenya. This course seeks to deepen the engagement of African clergy with the Synodal Process and equip them with contextually relevant alternative dispute and conflict resolution methodologies rooted in African values.

This project is a fruit of the 6th School of Inculturation of the Focolare Movement Africa, from Researches & Document Number 5, entitled, Reconciliation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges for Inculturation.

Participation in this course is by selection. A careful nomination was conducted in collaboration with Local Ordinaries and some national episcopal conferences. Forty-two Parish Priests from nine countries, Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were chosen for their pastoral leadership, community engagement, and capacity to influence peacebuilding at the grassroots level.

This unique program will explore key theological and cultural dimensions shaping the Synodal journey in Africa today, including:

• Inculturation in Peacebuilding: Local Wisdom for Conflict Resolution, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Mediation, Conciliation, Arbitration & Negotiation.
• The Synodal Process: A New Stage in the Journey of the Church – Theological Perspectives.
• The Role of the Bishop in Fostering Peacebuilding in Local Churches across Africa.
• A presentation of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
• Introduction to Centro Evangelii Gaudium (CEG) and its relevance to the 2023–2025 Synodal Journey.
• An authentic African encounter with Christ, grounded in culture and community, as a contribution to global evangelisation.

The course will also highlight contemporary realities such as:

• History of Synods in Africa (220 A.D. – 2009)
• African culture and peace building: the necessity of a paradigm shift
• Eco-Farming & Climate Action as Peace Tools
• Diplomacy and Conflict Negotiation in the Parish
• Peacebuilding is a shared responsibility in the community
• Leveraging scientific tools to advance peace in Africa.
• The Role of the Bishop in Peacebuilding at the Local Level
• Peacebuilding process and focus on the African youth today
• Small Christian Communities (SCC) as an expression of Ubuntu: “Strength in Unity” and the Spirituality of SCC in Africa.

Participants will benefit from a blend of scholarly insight, African wisdom, and collaborative workshops designed to transform parish communities into centres of love, unity and healing.

As Africa continues to contribute to shaping the future of the universal Church, this course is both a call to reflection and a commitment to action. Let us walk together on the path of peace, justice, and synodal communion.

Download the Brochure for the Synodal Peacebuilding Empowerment Course for Parish Priests in Africa

Event Details

Dates: 6th – 27th July 2025
Venue: Mariapolis Piero, Juja, Kenya (Kenyatta Road)
Email: info@centreofinculturation.org
Phone: +254 768 535719
Website: www.centreofinculturation.org

Mariapolis Piero,

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