The article examines the place and role of the laity within the synodal vision of the Church developed in the teaching of Pope Francis. It traces and discusses the historical evolution of the relationship between clergy and laity, from the early Christian concept of laos Theou to the modern understanding of the People of God. Although the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici affirmed the dignity and mission of the laity, their participation in the Church’s governance and decision-making remains limited. Synodality – understood as the common journey of the People of God – emerges as a response to this tension. Pope Francis presents it as a new stage in ecclesiological development, in which the laity’s shared responsibility for the Church’s mission constitutes not a supplement but the very essence of its life and activity.