40 JCAM 2023 Annual Review Reflecting on his participation, Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ said, “I have found this experience nourishing for my personal prayer. This synod on synodality has become a way of practicing the graces of listening, dialogue, and discernment in a prayerful manner. Even if nothing else changes after the synod, the integration of prayer and discernment in common into decision-making processes will be an important part of the goal of becoming a more synodal church. I am hopeful that the outcome of the synod will be a church that is more discerning in its ways of proceeding—in other words, a prayerful, humble, and listening church.” Delegates representing Africa in the October 2023, In a post-synodal webinar organised by ASI with some of Synod on Synodality Assembly in Rome at a the African delegates reflecting on the key insights, preparatory seminar in Nairobi, Kenya. discussions, and lessons learned, the keynote speaker, Archbishop Nkea of Bamenda, appointed by Pope Francis, We were able to talk to each other freely and bring up our and a member of the ASI's Synodality Resource Team, own ideas, and this aspect of sharing is a very strong termed the October Synod a ‘special moment for the element of synodality. It was a very special moment for the church’; “We shared freely, we shared without reserve, we church that we could sit together with our lay brethren and shared without being afraid of any subject, and everyone together express how we felt,” he said. was able to interact in this process. The synod suggests extensive discussion and consideration of revising priestly formation. The request that seminars or other training courses for candidates for the ministry be linked to the daily lives of the communities has been widely expressed. It is necessary to avoid the risks of formalism and ideology, which lead to authoritarian attitudes and prevent true vocational growth. In this regard and among other formation initiatives, ASI plans to hold in 2024 a formation conference with the Rectors and Formators of the major seminaries in the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA). IMBISA is one of the seven regional bodies of the Sympodium of Episcopal Dr. Nora K. Nonterah one of the only two laywomen Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. delegates from Africa at the Synod Assembly held in Vatican, Rome, meets Pope Francis.