“A concrete exercise of synodality”: Archbishop on Planned Central Africa Catholic Bishops’ Plenary Assembly

N'Djamena, 15 January, 2026 / 4:45 PM

The planned 13th Plenary Assembly of members of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa Region (ACERAC) is being hailed as “a concrete exercise of synodality.” 

The January 25 – February 1 meeting to be held in the Catholic Archdiocese of N’Djaména in Chad under the theme “The challenges of the Church, Family of God in Central Africa: thirty years after the publication of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa” is to bring together Catholic Church leaders from across the region to foster communion, collaboration, and shared reflection.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, January 14, the Local Ordinary of N’Djaména provides details about the planned meeting and praises the mobilization of the faithful in preparing for the event.

“This gathering aims to be a time of reflection, dialogue, and hope, focusing on the life and mission of local Churches in the light of the 1994 document, which remains a guiding compass for the Church in Africa,” Archbishop Goetbé Edmond Djitangar says.

He says the meeting is to be “a significant moment of ecclesial communion, a concrete exercise of synodality, and a great time of listening, reflection, and hope for Central Africa.”

High-profile attendees are expected, including Dieudonné Cardinal  Nzapalainga of Bangui Archdiocese in the Central African Republic (CAR);  Michael Cardinal Czerny, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD); Fridolin Cardinal  Ambongo, President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM); as well as Archbishop Giuseppe Laterza, Apostolic Nuncio in CAR and Chad and Mons. Hyacinthe Dione, Delegate of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Archbishops and Bishops from Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, the Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea, along with Priests, women and men Religious, and lay experts from across the Central African sub-region, are also expected to participate.

In his January 14 statement, Archbishop Djitangar emphasized that the assembly is be “a true celebration of faith and unity,” calling on participants and local communities to demonstrate solidarity, engagement, and fraternal hospitality.

Archbishop Djitangar praises the mobilization of the people of God already at work in the preparations and appeals for solidarity and fraternal hospitality, to “make this event a true celebration of faith and unity.”

He also announced that in 2029, Chad will mark the centenary of the arrival of Catholic missionaries in the country, “a page of history to honour and a future to build.”