The floods that hit various areas in Romania, the pastoral activity, and the Church’s charitable mission and Catholic teaching are some of the topics addressed by the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Bishops of Romania during the Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference of Romania (CER) that took place in Timisoara from 24 to 26 September. The focus of the meeting, hosted by the Eparchy of Lugoj, was the Holy Year 2025 and the second session of the Synod of Bishops, which will also be attended by three prelates from the Romanian Catholic Church. In their final statement, the Bishops call upon the people of God to support the synodal event with prayer.

“Being a Christian – they explain – means embracing the vocation to live out the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, each Christian participates in the universal apostolate of the Church with their own mission. During the Assembly, the Bishops were informed about the programme of the 2025 Jubilee Year and the initiatives of the local Church. “The Youth Jubilee will be the event with the largest participation and for which the young people of Romania are already preparing”. Furthermore, the prelates encouraged diocesan Caritas offices to help the suffering populations hit by the recent floods and prayed for peace in the world. The Apostolic Nuncio to Romania, Mgr Giampiero Gloder, also attended the opening of the meeting. The next Assembly, hosted by the Diocese of Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), will take place on 14-15 May 2025.