Migrant communities in a synodal Church

03 Jul 2026

By The Record

The conference will be staged alongside the meeting of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry and its advisory council. Image: ACMRO.
The conference will be staged alongside the meeting of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry and its advisory council. Image: ACMRO.

The dynamic role that migrant communities play within a synodal Church will be the focus of the Eighth Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) National Conference.

Held from 25 – 26 August, the conference will be staged alongside the meeting of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry and its advisory council.

The theme of the conference is Migrant Communities in a Synodal Church.

The dynamic role that migrant communities play within a synodal Church will be the focus of the Conference. Photo: AndreaBernardino/Archdiocese of Perth.

“First and foremost, the conference is an acknowledgement and celebration of the faith, gifts, contributions, and resilience of migrant communities, as well as the richness they bring to the Church in Australia and wider society,” commission chair Archbishop Christopher Prowse said.

Additionally, the conference will focus on three sub-themes: fostering a culture of encounter; migrant communities as evangelisers; and migrant communities as missionaries of hope.

“These can be encapsulated in the three words: encounter, discipleship and mission,” Archbishop Prowse said.

Keynote speakers at the conference will be Cardinal Fabio Baggio CS, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Dr Trudy Dantis, Director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research at the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Bunbury Bishop George Kolodziej SDS will address participants during the conference dinner.

“It’s an opportunity for parish and school community leaders, migrant chaplains and members of the Church more broadly to gather for spiritual conversations, emphasising the Church’s call, together with migrant communities, to move towards new horizons of encounter and grace,” said ACMRO National Director, Fr Khalid Marogi.

Currently in Western Australia, the Migrant Jubilee Cross symbolises the faith, resilience and contribution that migrant communities bring to the Church and broader community. Photo: Eric Odong.

Participants will also have the opportunity to engage with members of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry and its advisory council.

For more information regarding the Conference program and speakers, Click Here.  

To register, Click Here. 

For further information regarding the conference, please contact Don Gomez at info@acmro.catholic.org.au or 02 6201 9848.