A delegation from the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) visited the Dicastery for Evangelization, where it was received by Monsignor Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Vatican body. The meeting provided an opportunity to share the progress, challenges, and hopes of the ecclesial process in the Amazon region, in continuity with the path opened by the Synod for the Amazon (2019) and with Pope Francis’ orientation toward a synodal, missionary, and inculturated Church.
A participatory pastoral path
During the dialogue, Monsignor Zenildo Lima (vice president of CEAMA) highlighted the importance of strengthening synodality and pastoral coordination among the Amazonian vicariates, proposing to move toward an Amazonian Ratio that guides formation and pastoral action based on the realities of the territory.
“We are called to care for our Common Home and to organize new ministries in a participatory and missionary way,” he said, emphasizing the need for a process that leads to a Church with an Amazonian face.
For his part, Monsignor Eugenio Coter, Apostolic Vicar of Pando and Reyes (Bolivia), shared the experience of a deeply lay Church: “In our vicariate, we celebrate more than 150 celebrations of the Word every Sunday, led by lay men and women. This is an enormous treasure, although it also shows the structural and ministerial fragility we experience.” He also highlighted the economic challenges facing Amazonian churches and the urgent need to strengthen structures of solidarity and ecclesial sustainability.
Evangelization, inculturation, and religious life
The dialogue also addressed the work that CEAMA is promoting around the inculturation of the liturgy, in continuity with the mandate of the Amazon Synod to develop a rite of its own. It was emphasized that this process is carried out with deep respect for the substance and form of the sacraments, incorporating cultural elements, calendars, languages, and symbols specific to the territory.
Special mention was made of women’s religious life, whose missionary presence sustains communities in border areas. Marcelo Lemos, executive secretary of CEAMA, emphasized that “evangelization in the Amazon is being carried out, to a large extent, by women—religious and lay—who safeguard the faith, cultures, and life of the people.”
Listening to the peoples and the leading role of young people
Speaking on behalf of the indigenous peoples, Patricia Gualinga, vice president of CEAMA and representative of the Kichwa people of Sarayaku (Ecuador), recalled the urgency of accompanying communities affected by extractive interests: “Many say that the Amazon is at the point of no return, but we still have time to heal and defend life. CEAMA is the space that responds to the complexity of the biome and the voice of the peoples.“
In his speech, Fernando Rueda (CEAMA communications) highlighted the need to integrate Amazonian youth more strongly into the processes of evangelization and decision-making. ”Young people, even though they sometimes feel marginalized by the Church, continue to believe and continue to evangelize in their own way. They are the ones who will sustain hope in the coming years,” he said.
Communion and shared mission
The visit was also an opportunity to express gratitude for the openness and accompaniment of the Dicastery for Evangelization. Monsignor Fortunatus Nwachukwu appreciated CEAMA’s commitment to building a synodal and missionary Church at the service of life.
Likewise, Cecilia Barja, from the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, highlighted the testimony of the more than ninety bishops who participated in the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon last August: “What we have seen is a Church deeply committed to synodality and to the cries of the people and the territory.”
CEAMA reiterated its invitation to the Dicastery to participate in its next General Assembly, scheduled for March 2026, as a sign of communion and ecclesial co-responsibility.
“CEAMA is an instrument at the service of evangelization, dialogue, and the defense of life and the territory. We want to continue walking together, in communion with Rome, so that the Amazonian Church may continue to be a sign of hope for the world.” — Cardinal Pedro Barreto, President of CEAMA.
A gift from the Amazon
A makana wood tray made by the Inga community (Colombian Amazon), offered as a sign of gratitude and communion between the Amazonian Church and the Vatican, a symbol of the life, culture, and faith that spring from the Amazon for the world.