The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) actively participated in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Organizations, held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican from October 24 to 26, 2025.
The event, convened by the General Secretariat of the Synod, brought together representatives from all continents, ecclesial bodies, and pastoral networks committed to implementing synodal processes in their territories. Presided over by Cardinal Mario Grech, it was attended by Pope Leo XIV, who addressed a message of encouragement to the local Churches, inviting them to continue walking in the communal discernment that the Holy Spirit inspires in the whole Church.
“The Church must listen to the cry of the earth, be a bridge between cultures and religions, and work for peace and communion,” said Pope Leo XIV during his dialogue with the participants of the Jubilee.
An Amazonian voice at the heart of the Jubilee
The CEAMA delegation participated in spaces for dialogue and reflection dedicated to sharing experiences of synodality lived in diverse territorial and cultural contexts. In his intervention, Mauricio López, vice president of CEAMA, presented the journey of the Amazonian Church, highlighting its spiritual richness and its contribution to the universal Church.
“CEAMA is the fruit of a long journey of the Church, of a missionary Church that walks alongside the peoples and communities of the Amazon. It is a sign of communion where bishops, religious, laity, and indigenous peoples discern together the new faces of the Church that Pope Francis dreams of,” López said.
The vice president explained that CEAMA is the result of the synodal process of the Synod for the Amazon (2019) and that it embodies the four dreams of the exhortation Querida Amazonía: social, ecological, cultural, and ecclesial.
“Synodality in the Amazon is not a method, it is a way of being Church, where we all walk together in listening and service,” he said.
Reflections for a Church that listens and learns
During the Jubilee sessions, topics such as synodality in the face of tensions in the Church, the conversion of ecclesial relationships, and synodality as social prophecy were addressed.
Among the speakers were Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś (Poland), Prof. Miguel de Salis Amaral (Portugal), and Dr. Mariana Aparecida Venâncio (Brazil), who contributed a Latin American perspective on the synodal process.
Pope Leo XIV, in his dialogue with representatives from different regions of the world, reiterated the importance of a Church that learns by listening, that values the charisms of all the baptized, and that promotes the active participation of women and the laity.
He also insisted on the urgency of ongoing formation to overcome the fears and resistance that prevent the full experience of synodality.
“Without formation, there will always be resistance and fear. Synodality is learning to listen to one another, to walk together, and to recognize the voice of the Spirit in others,” said the Pontiff.
A sign of communion and hope
The participants in the Jubilee made a Jubilee Pilgrimage through the Holy Door, a sign of spiritual renewal and missionary commitment.
The Jubilee concluded with Holy Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Basilica.
CEAMA’s participation reaffirms its vocation to be a bridge between the peoples of the Amazon and the universal Church, promoting a synodality that integrates, listens, and transforms, in communion with the life of the peoples and the care of our Common Home.
“CEAMA continues to offer the world an ecclesial experience that is born of the territory, nourished by the Gospel, and walks with hope alongside those who suffer most in the heart of the Amazon.”