Canon Law National Conference Calls Major Superiors to Synodal, Service-Centred Leadership

Bangalore, November 14, 2025 : A national conference for major superiors and their councillors was held this week at Paalana Bhavan, Bangalore, organised by the Commission for Canon Law of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). Bringing together 87 major superiors from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life across the country, the gathering focused on reinterpreting leadership through a synodal lens and strengthening authority as service.

Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu, chair of the Commission for Canon Law, presided over the Eucharistic celebration and delivered the keynote address. He urged major superiors to embrace servant leadership grounded in the Synod on Synodality, highlighting values such as inclusivity, unity, attentive listening, and integrity of life. Institutional authority, he said, must be exercised as “a genuine ministry of service.”

His keynote set the tone for the three-day national conference, aligning canonical responsibilities with the Church’s synodal vision of communion, participation, and mission.

The conference is being organised by Dr. Merlin Ambrose, secretary of the Commission for Canon Law in the CCBI.

By Catholic Connect Reporter