In an atmosphere of communion, discernment, and pastoral planning, the 29th Meeting of the Bishops of Eastern Bolivia was held, bringing together for three days the pastors of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the region, along with priests, clergy delegates, and vicars general. The meeting provided a privileged space to review the path traveled, read the signs of the times, and renew the evangelizing mission in a social and ecclesial context undergoing transformation.
Drawing on the memory of the previous meeting and based on an updated reading of the regional reality, the bishops addressed emerging challenges that directly challenge pastoral action in the Bolivian Amazon. Among the central themes were the strengthening of ecclesial social work and the need to generate adequate legal frameworks for the educational, health, and human promotion works that the Church supports in the eastern part of the country. The importance of establishing agreements with provincial and municipal governments that guarantee clear and sustainable institutional conditions for this service was emphasized.
Vocations, witness, and support for the clergy
Another significant focus was vocational ministry and the strengthening of the ordained ministry. The bishops reflected on the urgency of promoting solid vocations capable of responding to the current challenges of evangelization in the Amazon. They highlighted the need for motivated priests who are fulfilled in their vocation and who bear witness to joy in the exercise of their ministry.
In this context, the annual course of ongoing formation for the clergy was planned, discerning together its content and priorities. Likewise, a review of the systems of economic support for the clergy and pastoral works was proposed, as part of an exercise of co-responsibility and synodality also in the area of ecclesial economy.
Diakonia: 30 years at the service of communication with identity
The meeting included the Assembly of Diakonia – Higher School of Audiovisual Communication, linked to the Bolivian Catholic University “San Pablo,” which this year celebrates three decades of educational service. The bishops, founders, and members of the extended board conducted the annual institutional review and participated in the commemorative ceremony for the institution’s 30th anniversary.
Over the decades, Diakonia has trained hundreds of communicators and pastoral agents, promoting communication inspired by human and Christian values, in tune with the cultural and social challenges of the Amazon region.
University, mission, and presence in the territory
The third day took place on the campus of the Bolivian Catholic University, Santa Cruz campus. There, academic, research, and outreach advances corresponding to the 2025 administration were presented, highlighting new careers and developments in areas such as engineering linked to artificial intelligence.
Special emphasis was placed on the comprehensive formation of students, promoting volunteerism, ethical commitment, and Christian values. The university also shared its missionary work in Amazonian territories, including service on the hospital ship that sails the Mamoré River and educational activities in the Chiquitanía region, as a concrete expression of a Church that serves through education and territorial presence.
CEAMA: Amazonian synodal journey
A significant moment of the meeting was the space dedicated to the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), in the context of the process towards its next VI General Assembly. A historical and pastoral review of the organization born out of the Synod for the Amazon was carried out, highlighting the progress made in these five years of synodal journey.
Milestones such as the approval of statutes, the consolidation of its organizational structure, the development of an expanded pastoral plan, and the creation of working groups that systematized more than 100 proposals arising from the synodal process were recalled. Among the strategic lines addressed were the Amazonian University, bilingual education, ministry, the role of women in the Church, and the processes of inculturation of the Roman rite in an Amazonian context.
As a result of this work, the jurisdictions were given a tool for reflection to deepen the Amazonian journey, promoting analysis and feedback on issues such as inculturation, the rescue of local cultures, and the defense of indigenous peoples, including those undergoing urbanization processes.
This process has been described as a continuation of the value of the past written in a new context, reaffirming the cultural and historical richness of the Amazonian peoples as an essential part of the Church’s mission.
A Church that discerns and walks in synodality
The 29th Meeting of Bishops of Eastern Bolivia revealed a Church that discerns its regional mission from communion, co-responsibility, and inculturation of the Gospel. Among institutional memories, formative anniversaries, and pastoral projections, the meeting reaffirmed its commitment to an evangelizing presence rooted in the territory and attentive to the social, cultural, and ecological challenges of the Amazon.
In fidelity to the spirit of the Synod and the process promoted by CEAMA, the Church in Eastern Bolivia continues to strengthen its mission from a synodal, missionary, and deeply Amazonian perspective.
