BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- On the first day of the public session of the U.S. bishops' annual fall meeting in Baltimore, the importance of the church's mission in light of the just-concluded Synod on Synodality, the National Eucharistic Congress, and the recently concluded U.S. election loomed large.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., shared with the bishops that Pope Francis' new encyclical "Dilexit Nos" is a call to "return to the heart" of Jesus to understand the synod, National Eucharistic Revival and the upcoming Jubilee 2025 in Rome "as disciples and as bishops."

"The deeper we go into his heart, the more strengthened we will be to proclaim the Good News together," he said.

"Eucharistic Revival, a more synodal form of evangelization, a Jubilee Year of Hope: All of these experiences will produce fruit, provided that we return to the heart of Christ, that sacred place where human longing and divine love are united," he said. "It is there, in the heart of Christ, where we rediscover in a personal way the 'kerygma' that we preach: Christ has become one of us, he has suffered and died to heal our wounds, he has risen, and he is alive with us now in the Spirit."

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, opened his address meditating upon the witness of the faithful Jewish people recounted in the books of Maccabees.

He observed that the U.S. church has many existing consultative structures for a synodal church, while acknowledging it has more work to do. With respect to the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, he noted it "continues now in its phase of mission" to "help the faithful discover or deepen its meaning, and to prolong the positive effects of the first two years."

Reflecting on the U.S. presidential election, he emphasized that the bishops "never backpedal or renounce the clear teaching of the Gospel" but "proclaim it in and out of season," and that Christians generally speaking must be "catalysts for a more humane and worthy approach to daily life."

"We must insist on the dignity of the human person from womb to tomb," he said, emphasizing the church's commitments include seeing Christ in people in need, defending the poor, fighting the evil of racism, and caring for migrants while calling for immigration reform.

"We certainly do not encourage illegal immigration, but we will all have to stand before the throne of grace and hear the Lord ask us if we saw him in the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, stranger, or sick and responded to his needs," he said.

During the meeting, the U.S. bishops held an extensive open discussion on the Synod on Synodality, which recently concluded in Rome after a monthlong session in October, before they resolved in a voice vote to ask their Committee on Priorities and Plans to discern developing a task force to help the conference and dioceses implement the final synod document.

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori shared his experience as a delegate, saying it was both "enlightening" and "challenging" to go through the synod with delegates from around the world for those weeks. He emphasized that trust was at the heart of the synod experience, and that synodality aimed to overcome polarization afflicting the church "by seeking consensus in the Holy Spirit" through conversation and prayer.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, has led the USCCB's involvement in the synod process, also briefed the bishops on the synod's October meeting. He explained that much theological work still needed to be done alongside efforts to develop a synodal culture at the parish level, where most Catholics experience the church.

"If it doesn't reach the parishes, it hardly reaches the people of God," he said.

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego proposed from the floor a task force to help implement synodality within the conference, and he suggested Bishop Flores be the one to lead it. His proposal for a task force was supported from the floor by Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and the assembly of bishops approved it in a subsequent voice vote. Archbishop Broglio then entrusted the proposal to the conference's Committee on Priorities and Plans for further study.

The U.S. bishops heard an update on the National Eucharistic Revival, which included a two-minute video that dramatically recapped the National Eucharistic Congress.

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and board chair of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., told the bishops that participants provided overwhelmingly positive feedback about the congress and preceding four-route National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. He noted that more than 200,000 people joined the pilgrimage; 65,000 joined the congress's procession in Indianapolis; and over 50,000 from every U.S. state and 23 countries joined the congress itself, with hundreds of thousands participating digitally.

"You called for it," he said. "Your support, your presence, your engagement made this powerful and the people felt it."

Bishop Cozzens said the NEC is planning a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles next year and to also "assist regions and dioceses in forming their own congresses and to provide resources for formation."

"The primary work of the NEC in the years ahead will be to support dioceses as they desire to continue the movement of Eucharistic renewal in our church, which we all know is a generational movement, especially helping to form and send Eucharistic missionaries," he said.

Bishop Stepan Sus of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, head of its pastoral and migration department, gave a presentation on the situation faced by Ukrainians as Russia's war on Ukraine nears 1,000 days.

"Considering the world's political changes, we hear different predictions about the possible end of the war in Ukraine," he said. "It should be clear that every Russian occupation leads to the elimination of our church as part of the community. All our churches in the occupied territories were closed, destroyed. Priests were imprisoned or expelled from their territories."

He thanked the U.S. church for its solidarity with Ukraine, noting Catholic Relief Services, the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Near East Welfare Association and various Catholic Charities. He asked for their continued support as Ukrainians seek a "just peace that will forever turn over the tragic page of the war that took thousands of innocent lives."

"As a church we cannot change all realities of the world," he said. "But we can be next to those people who suffer and wipe their tears."

After his address, the bishops gave Bishop Sus the day's only standing ovation.

The bishops also heard a video presentation on the 2023 National Black Catholic Congress, which highlighted the church's affirmation of the importance of Black Catholics and the gifts they bring to the wider church.

"We have a long legacy of faithfulness to our church, and I thank you for all you've done to keep that fire burning," Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell of Washington, president of the National Black Catholic Congress, told the bishops.

Bishop Campbell asked the bishops as fellow "missionary disciples" to do three things: encourage Black young people to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious and consecrated life; promote Black American Catholics with open causes for canonization known collectively as the "Holy Six" -- Venerable Mother Mary Lange; Venerable Father Augustus Tolton; Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille; Venerable Pierre Toussaint; Servant of God Julia Greeley; and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman; and to make use of the NBCC's resources to develop a pastoral plan for Black Catholics in their individual dioceses.

He said the congress's pastoral action plan "Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive" is for Black Catholics "a means to use their God-given gifts for the church, the body of Christ, for our brothers and our sisters."The bishops also showed support for local advancement of the sainthood causes of two women born in the 20th century: Benedictine Sister Annella Zervas of Moorhead, Minnesota, and Gertrude Agnes Barber, a laywoman from Erie, Pennsylvania.

The bishops also selected some of their number to fill several leadership positions. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis was voted in as treasurer-elect of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with several new committee chairs. Bishop Michael G. Woost of Cleveland was elected chairman-elect for the Committee on Divine Worship; Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, was elected chairman-elect of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop Edward J. Burns was elected as head of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, was elected chairman-elect of the Committee on Migration. The prelates assume their positions at the conclusion of the bishops' 2025 fall assembly.

The bishops also confirmed two bishops to the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services, the international relief agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S.: Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, and Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala of Washington.

Under review by the bishops is a new "mission directive" -- a new way that the conference is considering presenting its strategic vision for the next three years. The mission, which is still in draft form and accepting amendment suggestions, reads: "Responding even more deeply to the call to proclaim the Gospel and form Missionary Disciples, the Committees and Staff of the USCCB will prioritize the work of the Conference to help equip bishops, clergy, religious and the laity in evangelizing those who are religiously unaffiliated or disaffiliated from the Church, with special focus on young adults and the youth."

The purpose of the directive, said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, who chairs the conference's Committee on Priorities and Plans, is to guide the work of USCCB committees and staff rather than replace the work of each committee.

General support was offered from the floor, with request from Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, New York, to add a reference to Jesus Christ, and a request from Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, just-retired archbishop of Boston, to stress within the directive safeguarding the role and concerns of women, and the fight against racism and bigotry.

The bishops' second day of public sessions continues Nov. 13.

- - - Peter Jesserer Smith is the national news and features editor for OSV News.