The president of the CCCB, Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, will be joined by Sherbrooke Archbishop Luc Cyr to represent the French sector. Quebec auxiliary bishop Louis Corriveau was elected the French sector substitute delegate.

Thunder Bay, Ont., bishop Fred Colli and Prince George, B.C., bishop Stephen Jensen will represent the English sector with auxiliary bishop Thomas Dowd from Montreal as the substitute delegate.

The theme of the upcoming synod is titled "Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment," and will take place on Oct. 3-23, 2018.

Early last year, the Vatican released a preparatory document and questionnaire to "consult the entire people of God."

During this period of consultation, several Canadian dioceses conducted town hall meetings and online surveys to identify the biggest issues concerning young people aged 18 years to 35 years. Results from all Canadian dioceses were submitted to Canada's Apostolic Nuncio at the end of October last year.

For the first time, the Vatican also launched an online survey (youth.synod.va) last June asking young people for direct feedback. The online survey closed on Dec. 31 after receiving 130,000 responses.

When criticism arose calling for greater participation of young people, synod secretary general Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri announced a pre-synodal meeting last October.

The pre-synod, which will take place March 19-24 in Rome, will provide a platform for youth delegates around the world to discuss their concerns. There will be two youth delegates from Canada.

Results from this meeting will also contribute to the drafting of the working document (Instrumentum Laboris) which will form a blueprint for the bishops in preparation for the October Synod.