From January 26 to 30, 2026, on the banks of the Amazon River, the annual retreat for the clergy of the Dioceses of Coari, Alto Solimões, and the Prelature of Tefé was held in the city of Coari. About forty priests and three bishops participated in this experience, which became a concrete experience of synodality, marked by prayer, listening, and conversation in the Spirit.
The theme of the retreat was “Praying the synodal path with the words of Popes Francis and Leo XIV,” and it was developed through personal prayerful meditation and subsequent sharing in groups, following the synodal method of spiritual conversation.
A fruit of the journey promoted by CEAMA
The theme was proposed at the meeting of bishops from the nine countries of the Amazon region, held in Bogotá in August 2025 at the initiative of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), whose central theme was synodality.
In this context, the bishop of Coari, Monsignor Marcos Piatek, C.Ss.R., together with the bishops of Tefé and Alto Solimões, invited Father Adelson Araújo dos Santos, SJ, a member of CEAMA’s team of theological advisors, to lead the retreat. The objective was to offer the clergy of these three particular Churches—located along the Solimões River (Amazon)—a space to pray and reflect together on the current moment the Church is experiencing in the implementation phase of the Synod.
Fr. Adelson recalled that the Synod did not conclude with the assembly held between 2023 and 2024, but continues in its implementation phase, in which all particular Churches are called to actively engage. In this sense, he highlighted the value of this initiative as a concrete sign of the reception of the synodal process in the Amazon.
Returning to the source: spirituality and ongoing formation
For Bishop Altevir da Silva, C.S.Sp., bishop of the Prelature of Tefé, the retreat was “a privileged time of encounter with God, a time to return to drink from the source.” He also pointed out the importance of avoiding two spiritual risks: entering the retreat believing that no conversion is necessary, or doing so from a place of discouragement, forgetting full trust in God.
The retreat offered moments of personal prayer, community celebration, and group work, integrating spirituality and ongoing formation, essential dimensions for missionary life in the Amazon.
For his part, Fr. Elcivan Alencar, from the Diocese of Coari, emphasized that, despite the great geographical distances, the retreat was an eminently synodal experience. He stressed that the theme helped to transform the experience lived by the particular Churches in recent years into prayer and to renew priestly co-responsibility in the service of the common mission.
Walking together: listening, discerning, and serving
During the retreat, the teachings of Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV on synodality were explored in depth. Francis’ words at the opening of the Synod in 2021 were recalled: “Walking together. Encountering, listening, discerning,” emphasizing that the Synod is above all a journey of spiritual and ecclesial discernment.
Likewise, Pope Leo XIV’s call in his first message after his election was evoked, when he affirmed his desire to “be a synodal Church, a Church that walks, that seeks peace, charity, and closeness to those who suffer.”
Synodality embodied in the Amazon
The experience in Coari shows how synodality is embodied in the Amazonian territories not only as a method, but also as a shared spirituality and missionary co-responsibility. On the banks of the Amazon River, the clergy of these particular Churches renewed their commitment to walk together, listen to one another, and discern God’s will amid the pastoral challenges of the region.
This annual retreat thus becomes a concrete sign of the reception of the synodal process in the Amazon, in harmony with the path promoted by CEAMA: a Church that prays, discerns, and acts in unity, at the service of the Amazonian peoples and the defense of life in the territory.