The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution that was created by Paul VI on September 15, 1965, to keep alive the spirit of collegiality of the Second Vatican Council. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the institution, and the Catholic Church remembers it during the ordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on “the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world (October 5-25, 2015). On the morning of October 17, in the presence of Pope Francis, interventions will be given by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, President of the Bishops Conference of Austria. This will be followed by messages of bishops from the five continents, and the concluding address by the Holy Father. There is a large delegation from the Focolare amongst the invited guests, including Focolare president Maria Voce who described the Synod of Bishops as “one of the best fruits of the Second Vatican Council for a new sense of collegiality and deeper communion for the further building up of the Universal Church.” Synod comes from the Greek word “syn-hodos” which means “meeting” or “together”. The original meaning of the word, which is to “walk together”, expresses the essence of the Synod: a place for the bishops to encounter one another with the Pope, to share their thoughts and experiences in the common search for pastoral solutions that can be offered to the Church around the world.