From its announcement in 1989 until its convening in Rome in 1994 the African Synod of Bishops became a focus for hope and tension in the region where Catholicism is growing the most quickly. The African Synod is the first comprehensive treatment of this historic event. It provides an up-to-the-minute portrait of the African church, its needs for inculturation, its search for an African ecclesial expression, and its relation to Rome.