Dear fellow parishioners,

Last Fall Pope Francis asked parishes throughout the world to join Him on a Synodal Journey. This process called for all children of God – laity, consecrated and ordained – to engage in deep and respectful listening to one another. This listening was intended to create a space for us to hear the Holy Spirit together, and guide the Church of the Third Millennium.

The Pope expressed His hope that the Synodal process would inspire trust, deepen our unity as a Catholic community, and begin healing the broken part of our Catholic family. Simply put, the Pope was trying to create bridges, so we can Journey Together in our Faith!

Here at St. Michael Parish, four delegates coordinated Listening Sessions with over one hundred fellow parishioners. The sessions focused on four fundamental questions:

What are the strengths of the Catholic Church?

What are some of the challenges you see for the Catholic Church?

What hinders us from being active in the Church’s mission?, and

If you could send one message to Pope Francis, what would that be?

We are very pleased to release our Parish Synod Report, a summary of the responses organized by theme. It has also been sent to the Diocese of Bridgeport, to ultimately be incorporated into the USCCB Report in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in Rome, October 2023. We hope you will prayerfully read this thematic Report in the spirit of faith and hope as we look to building a stronger Church and parish community.

If you have any questions, please contact one of our parish delegates. It has been our honor to serve as your parish delegates throughout this Synod Listening Process. Paul Huston, Joe Barragan, Carmen Penaranda, and Sue Stone

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We are also very thankful to the many parishioners and friends who volunteered to be our Facilitators, Scribes and Communications teams during the small group listening sessions, as well as the other participation options, They jumped in with great energy, and with listening and brave hearts… thank you very much.

Facilitators                                    Scribes

Lavelle Shields                             Jack Schmeltzer

Liz Fitzroy                                      Anne Marie Reilly

Elissa Moran                                 Denise Camacho

Ina Shea                                           Danielle Esposito

Anne Marie Reilly                      Cristina Lazaro

Lynda Withiam                            Jill Gussis

Loren Procaccini

MariCarmen Losada

Communications Team

Jill Gussis

Ann Robertson

Patti Geanakos

Kristi Hutter

As we continue to journey together, we ask for your prayers. We have learned a great deal in this process. God is always inviting us to something new… we pray that we have learned to be better listeners and that we may hear and follow where God is leading us. 

Please contact one of your Synod delegates with any questions.

November 12, 2021 -

Read an article​​  from America Magazine on How Bishop Caggiano Agrees with Pope Francis: We Need a Listening Church

October 16, 2021 -
Read an article  from the Fairfield County Catholic on the Diocesan Delegates Commissioned To Synod On Synodality