Bishops are gathered in Baltimore for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops general assembly.

On the opening day of the Catholic bishops' annual fall assembly in Baltimore, Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, discussed plans for an unprecedented gathering of Catholic leaders next July in Orlando, Florida.

"This gathering will be led start to finish by us, by the bishops," said Bishop Malone regarding the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America. "The convocation is a unique event doing something at the national level that has not been done before,  namely a deep reflection and national conversation about Evangelii Guadium and how every Catholic leader in our country is challenged to respond to the Holy Father's call to become and to form missionary disciples."

The four day conference, scheduled for July 1-4, will consist of five key plenary sessions comprised of panels of bishops and other leaders, according to Bishop Malone. "In addition, there'll be numerous breakout sessions, opportunities to meet as diocesan delegations as bishops with our people, moments of prayer and daily Mass, as well as two special liturgical events. One will be devoted to our Lady as bridge builder of cultures and faith and one devoted to reconciliation and healing."

The content of convocation will be organized around answering four questions:

-What is the nature of the current historical moment in the Church and in our nation?

-How do we respond to this moment as missionary disciples?

-Where are we called to go on this mission?

-What will we do to engage in this mission?

"Convocation will bring together a cross section of leaders who would never be in the same room together for any other reason," said Bishop Malone, who urged bishops from across the country to assemble a broad team of leaders who can participate with the delegation in the preparation and follow up work of the New Evangelization plans that will be decided upon at the Convocation. 

See Bishop Malone's address beginning at the 32 minute mark of this video: http://bcove.me/3xqscjgy