In an atmosphere of ecclesial communion and missionary hope, the Presidency of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) made an institutional visit to the Holy See from October 23 to 29, 2025. For a week, the delegation held meetings with various Vatican dicasteries and participated in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, reaffirming its commitment to a Church that walks together, listens, and discerns from the Amazonian peoples.
Encounters of communion and listening
The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the ties of collaboration between CEAMA and the various Vatican bodies, within the framework of the discernment process of the Synodal Apostolic Horizons. The delegation—composed of Cardinal Pedro Barreto, Monsignor Zenildo Lima, Monsignor Eugenio Coter, Sister Laura Vicuña, Patricia Gualinga, Mauricio López, Cecilia Barja, Marcelo Lemos, and Fernando Rueda—was received in a spirit of fraternity by the dicasteries for the Laity, Family, and Life; Culture and Education; Evangelization; Consecrated Life; the Service of Integral Human Development; Divine Worship; the Bishops; the General Secretariat of the Synod; and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (CAL).
At each meeting, participants shared the progress of the Amazonian synodal process, the fruits of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon (Bogotá, August 2025), and the efforts toward intercultural education promoted by the Amazonian Bilingual Intercultural Education Network (REIBA) and the Amazonian University Program (PUAM). The meetings were spaces for fraternal dialogue, where the need for communication with an Amazonian face, the evangelizing force of families and young people, the richness of indigenous cultures, and the witness of consecrated life that sustains the mission in border territories were highlighted.
Participation in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams
The CEAMA delegation participated in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Organizations, held from October 24 to 26 in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, presided over by Cardinal Mario Grech and attended by Pope Leo XIV.
During the meeting, Mauricio López, vice president of CEAMA, presented the Amazonian experience as a sign of a Church that walks alongside the peoples, inspired by the social, ecological, cultural, and ecclesial dreams of Querida Amazonía.
The Holy Father exhorted the local Churches to continue in community discernment, promoting the participation of all the baptized and ongoing formation as a way to overcome fear and resistance.
Audience with Pope Leo XIV
The highlight of the visit was the private audience with Pope Leo XIV on October 29, during which CEAMA shared its journey since its founding in 2020 as a result of the Synod for the Amazon (2019). The Pope expressed his gratitude for the witness of faith of the Amazonian peoples and encouraged CEAMA to continue to be “a prophetic voice in the face of the social, ecological, and spiritual challenges of the region.”
The audience highlighted the essential role of women in synodal and evangelizing processes, the progress of discernment on the Synodal Apostolic Horizons, and the fruits of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon. The Holy Father encouraged continuing on this path with patience and hope, recalling that “the true processes of the Spirit grow without haste, in silence and in communion.”
A Church that weaves communion
The institutional visit reaffirmed CEAMA’s commitment to the universal Church and to the mission of weaving communion from the Amazon. The Presidency expressed that this path was not only institutional, but deeply spiritual:
“The Amazon is not presented as a problem, but as a gift for the whole Church. Through its peoples, cultures, and biodiversity, we are invited to care for life and renew our hope in Christ, who makes all things new.”
With this visit, CEAMA continues to strengthen the bonds between the pilgrim Church in the Amazon and the Holy See, offering the world a witness of living synodality and fraternity that springs from the territory and opens itself to the heart of the world.