St Mary’s Cathedral College Hall, Sydney, 1 May 2026
Last week the ‘impossible’ was achieved: the Kenyan Sabastian Sawe ran a marathon in under two hours—becoming the first person ever to do so in a competitive race. On crossing the finishing line in front of Buckingham Palace he made the sign of the cross, for he is a devout Catholic.[1] Commentators focused on his crossing a barrier many thought no human being could ever traverse, and on the fact that he actually ran faster in the second hour than the first. But those who know distance running understood Sawe’s achievement was not just about those two hours. His race started years ago: as he grew up in the high-altitude Rift Valley that helped his lungs develop as they have; as he was raised by a devout Catholic grandmother and an athletic family who taught him never to give up; as he gave himself over to years of gritty pre-dawn training, accumulating the experience and endurance to make his mind and body capable of the extraordinary. The finish line was only the visible sign of a journey far longer than the race itself.[2]
What’s all this to do with the Synod of Sydney? Well, I can’t promise it will all be over in under two hours! But the fruits of these four days will be visible signs of something that has been years in the making. Our Synod was born and raised not in the high-altitude Rift Valley but the high-attitude Sydney basin. We too were raised by a devout Catholic grandmother, the Church of Sydney hailing from this very spot for more than two centuries and the Church universal for two millennia. We too know to make the sign of the cross before we try anything and in thanksgiving when by God’s grace we succeed. Our pre-dawn training has included two centuries of building families, parishes, schools, hospitals and ministries in this city, and more than a decade of consultations and listening through Parish 2020 to Go Make Disciples, through the Synods on Young People and on Synodality, to the preparatory phases and celebration of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia in this very hall. Meanwhile the Church universal has been enriched with a more robust theology and practice of synodality, of walking if not running together, of listening to our bodies and souls, and especially to the divine running coach. All of this was carefully reviewed by our Synod Working Party and further validated through regional consultations and formation sessions across Sydney and online. Here emerged our three ‘longings’ for more prayerful liturgies, more Christ-centred communities, a more missionary Church.
But our pre-dawn Synod training, in truth, stretches back even further. This leg of the race joins a much longer relay race stretching back to Polding, Pius and Paul, even to Moses and to Creation itself. Above all, it is a stage in the marathon of Jesus Christ, two-thousand-years long so far, as His Gospel is taken to the ends of the earth, and the faithful sustained by His promises to be with us always. It is that longer fidelity that gives our Synod its bearings. Our race-strategy is not to make determinations on what will make the Church of Sydney more fashionable but what will make her more faithful—more faithful to what she has always been called to be.
Our three longings are not corporate targets: they are, I believe, promptings of the Holy Spirit. They have been put into our hearts by God and confirmed through all we have heard. And if our motivations and goals are not bureaucratic ones, neither should be our processes and results. We are not here merely to ‘go through the motions’, let alone to generate minutes. We are here to discern under divine grace what God is asking of the Church in Sydney at this time. In prayerful trust in the Holy Spirit, in fidelity to Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church, in recognition of the challenges faced by our pastors and faithful today, but in appreciation also of the gifts they bring in service of the Gospel, we will embrace the coming days with candour and humility, gratitude and hope.
To engage in synoding, as Pope Francis described it, is to stop, to encounter the other, to listen with the ear of the heart, then discuss and discern so as to come closer to Christ and one another. It is a style of ecclesial living marked by prayer above all, opening our eyes to God around and within us, and practising a life of fidelity such as we read from Acts of the Apostles in this Easter season: “Those who accepted the message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to communion, to the Breaking of the Bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe… and united.” (Acts 2:41-47)
Throughout these days together I ask you to demonstrate that early Church spirit of genuine listening, of fidelity to the apostolic tradition, of communion with God and each other, of liturgical and other prayer. From such wells will come the faith, wisdom, creativity we need. I am expecting positive, practical proposals that will serve God and our people well.
After he crossed the finishing line, Sabastian Sawe was asked what his achievement might mean for the next generation of runners. His answer was simple: “Their time will come.” He ran that race not only for himself, but for God and for those who will come after him.
Dear Synodallers, brothers and sisters in Christ, what we do here over these days is part of something much bigger than us. It is for the Church in Sydney that will exist long after we have left the stage. It is for us but also for the generations who come after us, nourished by whatever fruit comes of these days. Let us give this race our very best. And may Our Lady Help of Christians, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Servant of God Eileen O’Connor, and all the saints past and present of the Church of Sydney run alongside us as our pacers, so that at the end we might say with St Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now I await the laurel of righteousness from the Lord.” (2 Tim 4:6-8) God bless you all.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/CatholicGospelMedia/videos/-new-sebastian-sawe-of-kenya-made-the-sign-of-the-cross-and-bowed-in-prayer-afte/1354834366464344/
[2] Nate Tinner-Williams, ‘Best they ever Sawe: Kenyan Catholic shatters marathon world record, breaks two-hour barrier,’ Black Catholic Messenger 27 April 2026.
