London Diocese’s Linda Staudt Appointment: Voting Participant at Synod in Rome
Read the article in the Windsor Star https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/windsors-staudt-selected-by-pope-francis-for-prominent-role
Last week in early July, I heard a loud crash and realized that another woman had broken a glass ceiling! Linda Staudt of London Diocese was selected by Pope Francis as a voting participant at the upcoming Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of Rome in October 2023. Ms. Staudt will be one of only seven lay people from North America to participate in the Synod which will listen to what has been gleaned in previous synodality diocesan meetings throughout the world. Participants will assist in refining where the Spirit and People of God are leading the faithful at this time through mutual communion, participation, and mission.
Bishop Ronald Fabbro of London Diocese nominated Linda for her leadership and participation in the diocesan synodality discussions, and as chairwoman and lead writer of the Synod Synthesis Team for the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and presented the Ontario Synthesis to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022. For years, she has been a leader in Catholic education.
Prior to her retirement following eight years as Director of Education, London District Catholic School Board, Ms. Staudt was a teacher and administrator in her Windsor hometown. She took a keen interest in sports and is, herself, a member of the Windsor-Essex Sports Hall of Fame for her excellence as a track athlete.
As Ms. Staudt prepares for her upcoming trip and participation at the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, we accompany her and all the participants with our prayers. We shower them with abundant blessings at this opportune moment as they read the signs of the time, seek the movement of the Holy Spirit, and listen to the faithful throughout the world. Let us “be a mission-oriented Church that forms disciples of Jesus.”1
-Sister Jean Moylan, csj
1.Introduction: Conversations in the Diocese of London for A Listening Church
Header Image: Unsplash, Francesco Maria Achille; Linda Staudt PHOTO BY DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star