One year after his departure to the Father’s House, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) offers a prayer of gratitude for the life, ministry, and legacy of Pope Francis, a compassionate shepherd, a prophet of our time, and a dear friend of the Amazonian peoples.
His pontificate profoundly marked the journey of the universal Church and, in a special way, opened new horizons for the Amazon, recognizing in this region not only an invaluable ecological treasure but also a theological space where God continues to speak through the indigenous peoples, biodiversity, and the cry of the poor.
The Pope Who Heard the Cry of the Amazon
With an evangelical vision and a missionary heart, Pope Francis convened the Synod for the Amazon in 2019 under the theme: “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology”. That historic event marked an unprecedented listening to indigenous, riverine, Afro-descendant, peasant, religious, and pastoral communities who shared their dreams, wounds, and hopes.
Francis reminded us then: “The defense of the earth has no other purpose than the defense of life.” With that conviction, he spurred on a Church capable of standing with those who suffer and of safeguarding our Common Home.
Beloved Amazonia: A Spiritual Testament for the Region
In 2020, he presented to the Church and the world the apostolic exhortation Beloved Amazonia, a luminous text that continues to guide the pastoral and social path of our region.
There he shared four great dreams for the Amazon:
- A social dream, that fights for the rights of the poorest.
- A cultural dream, preserving the richness of the peoples and their identities.
- An ecological dream, protecting the threatened natural beauty.
- An ecclesial dream, with incarnate and missionary Christian communities.
His words continue to resonate powerfully: “I dream of an Amazonia that fights for the rights of the poorest” and “A Church with an Amazonian face.”
Father of Synodality
Pope Francis taught that the Church cannot walk alone or from above, but rather by listening and discerning together. That is why CEAMA was born as the fruit of the Amazonian synodal process, as a concrete expression of co-responsibility among bishops, priests, consecrated life, the laity, and indigenous peoples.
Francis insisted: “The path of synodality is the path God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” That statement became the horizon for our mission in the Amazon.
His memory commits us today
On this first anniversary of his passing, CEAMA renews its commitment to keeping his spiritual, pastoral, and prophetic legacy alive.
His memory calls us to:
- Defend life under threat in the Amazon.
- Listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the peoples.
- Strengthen a Church with an Amazonian, indigenous, ministerial, and Samaritan face.
- Deepen synodality as a permanent way of life.
- Promote socio-environmental justice in the face of new forms of extractivism and exclusion.
Thank you, Francis
- Thank you for looking upon the Amazon with tenderness and courage.
- Thank you for teaching us that the periphery is also the center.
- Thank you for believing in the indigenous peoples.
- Thank you for fostering a Church that listens, learns, and walks alongside the poor.
From the rivers, jungles, urban communities, and wounded territories of the Amazon, we lift up our prayer today:
Pope Francis, sower of hope, your word continues to blossom in our land.
Your dream lives on in the journey of CEAMA and the Amazonian peoples.