24. The presentation of the Lineamenta at the Ninth Plenary Assembly of SECAM in Lomé, Togo, on 25 July 1990, was undoubtedly a new and significant stage in the preparation of the Special Assembly. It can be said that with the publication of the Lineamenta preparations for the Synod began in earnest in all the particular Churches of Africa. The Assembly of SECAM in Lomé approved a Prayer for the Special Assembly and requested that it be recited both publicly and privately in every African parish until the actual celebration of the Synod. This initiative of SECAM was truly felicitous and did not pass unnoticed by the universal Church.

In order to make the Lineamenta more available, many Episcopal Conferences and Dioceses translated the document into their own languages, for example into Swahili, Arabic, Malagasy, etc. "Publications, conferences and symposia on the themes of the Synod were organized by various Episcopal Conferences, Institutes of Theology and Seminaries, Associations of Institutes of Consecrated Life, Dioceses, some important journals and periodicals, individual Bishops and theologians".31