From Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda 

Pope Francis honored our Archdiocese with the appointment of Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns as one the voting participants at the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality, beginning this October.  Dr. Bailey Manns is a resident of Bloomington and presently serves as Adult Learning Director at Saint Joan of Arc parish in Minneapolis. I have come to know and respect her for her significant contribution as one of the original members of the Archdiocesan Lay Advisory Board constituted in 2018. Not surprising for someone with years of experience in parish ministry and spiritual direction, Dr. Bailey Manns is a superb listener and articulate dialogue partner, skills that will serve her well at the Synod. She managed her parish’s participation in our Archdiocesan Synod efforts and was one of our six Archdiocesan representatives in the continental phase of the pre-Synod preparations. She also ably represented the Archdiocese at my request on the team that worked with the World Council of Churches and the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity to draft the international materials for the 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. I am grateful that her voice, grounded in the lived experience of our local Church, will be heard at the Synod.