A synodal journey that begins in the living Amazon
The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) officially began its journey towards the VI General Assembly together with the Warao people in the city of Porto Velho, Brazil, during the end-of-year meeting of the Presidency, Advisors, and Executive Secretariat, held on December 11.
This space for community discernment allowed for an evaluation of the journey taken during 2025, the planning of the institutional mission for 2026, and significant progress in the preparation of the VI General Assembly, which will be held in Bogotá, Colombia, from March 16 to 19, 2026.
Eucharistic celebration and launch of the assembly journey
At the end of the pastoral visits to local experiences in the Archdiocese of Porto Velho, a Eucharist was celebrated together with the local Church, in which sisters and brothers from the Warao people, migrants from Venezuela, participated.
In this deeply communal and celebratory context, CEAMA officially launched the journey towards the VI General Assembly, reaffirming its option for a synodal Church, incarnated in the territories and close to the most vulnerable peoples.
During the celebration, the Prayer of Preparation for the Sixth Assembly was also presented as a sign of a process sustained by faith, communion, and hope, which seeks to discern the new calls of the Spirit for the Amazon.
A homily marked by trust and welcome
In his homily, Cardinal Pedro Barreto, SJ, president of CEAMA, invited the community to live an experience of total trust in God, inspired by the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I, the Lord your God, take you by the hand and say to you: do not be afraid, I myself will help you” (cf. Is 41).
The Cardinal highlighted the reality of the Warao people as a migrant people, forced to leave their ancestral territory in the Orinoco River delta, and emphasized Jesus’ closeness to those who experience displacement and the search for new paths. He recalled that Jesus himself was a migrant, and that the face of Christ is present in every brother and sister who is welcomed.
He also valued the cultural and spiritual richness of the Warao people, their deep relationship with water and the river, their ancestral language, and their wisdom expressed in moriche craftsmanship. In this context, he recalled with gratitude the gesture of the Warao people in offering a hammock (chinchorro) as an Amazonian gift to Pope Leo XIV, a sign of rest, care, and communion.
Concrete faces of the Amazonian mission
The experience in Porto Velho gave a concrete face to the pastoral, social, and missionary commitment of the Church in the Amazon. The presence of the Warao people, the welcome of the local Church, and the joint journey of CEAMA expressed a Church that listens, accompanies, and allows itself to be challenged by the cries of the peoples and the earth.
Prayer in preparation for the VI General Assembly
As part of the launch of the assembly process, CEAMA shared the Prayer in preparation for the VI General Assembly, inspired by the Word of God: “I am going to do something new, which is already sprouting. Don’t you notice it?” (Is 43:19).
This prayer invokes the Creator Father, Jesus Christ, beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit, protagonist of synodality, asking for the grace to be a true ecclesial body, a sign of unity in diversity, and a Church with an Amazonian face, committed to life, justice, and care for our common home, under the protection of Saint Mary, Mother of the Amazon.
A process that begins with hope
The beginning of the journey towards the VI General Assembly from Porto Velho, together with the Warao people, reaffirms the synodal and missionary identity of CEAMA and its decision to continue walking from the territories, with the peoples and in the service of life.
CEAMA invites all communities, local churches, and people committed to the Amazon to join in prayer and active participation in this process, trusting that the Spirit continues to bring forth “new things” in the heart of the Amazon.