The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), together with the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Consolata Missionary Family (Colombia Region), and various ecclesial institutions, participated in the launch of the works “Advance into Deeper Waters: Synodal Paths of the Church in the Amazon” and “Church with an Amazonian Face: Compendium of the Documents of the Synodal Paths of the Church in the Amazon”, by Consolata missionary Fr. Julio Caldeira Ferreira, IMC.
The event, held virtually, brought together representatives of the Amazonian Church, pastoral workers, men and women religious, ecclesial leaders, and individuals committed to the synodal journey of the Amazon. During the presentation, the author shared the profound spiritual, historical, and pastoral process that gave rise to these works, born from the concrete experience of walking alongside the Amazonian peoples.
“The challenge is to board the Amazonian canoe and move toward deeper waters,” said Fr. Julio Caldeira, using one of the central images of his talk to describe the process of building a Church with an Amazonian face.
Inspired by the reality of the Amazon basin, the author compared the Church in the Amazon to the great Amazon River, which is formed by multiple tributaries flowing from nine countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
“The Church in the Amazon is like that great river: it is formed from the experiences and lives of countless people, communities, and processes. It is a diverse, rich Church, and one that is often unknown to those who view it from the outside,” he affirmed.
A story born of the land and of listening
Fr. Julio recalled that fifteen years ago he arrived in the Amazon with limited preconceptions about this region, but that contact with the communities and ecclesial processes allowed him to discover immense human, cultural, and spiritual richness.
His experience in Sucumbíos, Ecuador, alongside Bishop Gonzalo López Marañón, as well as his participation in Amazonian meetings organized by CLAR, REPAM, and later CEAMA, profoundly shaped his understanding of an inculturated, ministerial Church committed to the Amazonian peoples and the care of our Common Home.
“The Amazonian journey allowed me to understand the importance of walking with both feet: evangelization and human promotion,” he noted.
The works also stem from the desire to recover the historical memory of the Amazonian Church, moving beyond fragmented or exclusively national perspectives, to strengthen a truly pan-Amazonian and synodal consciousness.
“Move into Deeper Waters”: A Canoe in Motion
The first work, “Move into Deeper Waters,” offers a historical and pastoral journey through the main milestones of the Amazonian ecclesial journey.
Presented by B Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera,B secretary general of CELAM, and with a preface by B Cardinal Michael Czerny,B prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the book is organized into ten chapters that span from the Church’s arrival in the Americas and the Amazon to the current processes of coordination between REPAM and CEAMA.
Among the topics covered are:
- The founding meetings in Iquitos, Santarém, Pucallpa, and Manaus;
- the birth of REPAM in 2014;
- the process of the Amazon Synod;
- the apostolic exhortation *Querida Amazonía*;
- the creation of CEAMA in 2020;
- and the current challenges of a synodal, ecological, and prophetic Church.
The book also includes historical data, testimonies, the living memory of the local Churches, and references to Amazonian saints, blesseds, and martyrs.
“Church with an Amazonian Face”: A Documentary Map of the Amazonian Process
The second work, “Church with an Amazonian Face,” compiles and organizes the main documents of the Amazonian ecclesial processes from 1971 to the present.
With prefaces by Cardinal Pedro Barreto, former president of CEAMA, and B Bishop Rafael CobB , president of REPAM, the book compiles historical documents, pastoral messages, and excerpts from papal addresses that have shaped the Church’s path in the Amazon.
The publication includes references to:
- The meetings in Iquitos, Santarém, Pucallpa, and Manaus;
- documents related to REPAM and CEAMA;
- excerpts from the Aparecida Document;
- and messages from St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.
Of particular relevance is the impetus given by Pope Francis toward a “Church with an Amazonian face,” especially following the Amazon Synod and the exhortation *Querida Amazonia*.
An invitation to continue sailing together
During his remarks, Fr. Julio explained that both publications are part of a single, larger work.
“We can say that ‘Church with an Amazonian Face’ is the map that provides the route and the documents, while ‘Put Out into Deeper Waters’ is the canoe in motion.”
The author gave special thanks to REPAM, CEAMA, CELAM, CLAR, various Vatican bodies, Amazonian communities, indigenous peoples, missionaries, as well as all the individuals and institutions that opened their archives, shared testimonies, and helped build this collective memory.
Finally, he extended an invitation not to remain “on the shore,” but to continue navigating together in the Amazonian synodal process:
“Today we are called to recover what we have lived, reflected upon, and built, to respond to the challenges of the Amazon and the Church in this time. We must not remain on the shore… let us board the Amazonian canoe together and move forward into deeper waters”.
These works represent a valuable contribution to strengthening the living memory of the Amazonian Church and to continuing to build, through communion and synodality, a Church close to the people, a defender of life, and committed to the care of our Common Home.