With a profound pastoral sense and in a synodal key, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) joyfully announces the realization of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon, which will be held for the first time, August 17-20, 2025, in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.
This meeting, convened by CEAMA, will bring together the bishops of the Amazonian ecclesial jurisdictions of the nine countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela) that share the biome. It will be a privileged occasion to strengthen episcopal collegiality and to continue taking steps in the construction of a Church with Amazonian face, synodal, prophetic and committed to the life of the peoples and the Common Home.
An unprecedented experience of communion and mission
Cardinal Pedro Barreto, president of CEAMA, highlighted the historic nature of this meeting:
“We will meet for the first time in Latin America, all of us who are serving the Lord as bishops and pastors of the Church. The bishop presides over the particular Church, but we also have a responsibility to live episcopal collegiality beyond our own borders. The Amazonian language knows no borders.”
The meeting takes place during a particularly significant year for the life of the Church. In 2025, 60 years since the Second Vatican Council, an event that promoted the path of ecclesial renewal from a synodal perspective, and also remembers the five General Conferences of the Latin American Episcopate, with special emphasis on the second, held in Medellín (1968), which embodied the conciliar guidelines for our region.
Inspired by the Synod for the Amazon and the pontificate of Francis
Cardinal Barreto also recalled Pope Francis’ constant closeness to the Amazon:
“From the beginning of his pontificate, the Pope set his sights on the Amazon. In July 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, he already told us that we needed to relaunch the evangelization process in this region.”
The Meeting will also be an opportunity to assess the fruits of the Synod for the Amazon (2019) and the five years of CEAMA existence as a synodal space for listening, discernment and ecclesial action in the territory.
A space for dialogue between generations
The meeting will feature bishops with extensive experience in the region, as well as new pastors enthusiastically joining the Amazonian journey.
“What a joy it is to be reunited, each and every one of us: those of us who already have some experience in this Amazonian journey, and those young bishops, pastors of the particular Churches, who together can give that Amazonian face to our Church,” said Cardinal Barreto.
A Church that walks together through the life of the territory
With this call, CEAMA reaffirms its commitment to a Church that walks to the rhythm of the people, which listens to the cries of the Amazon, which cares for its biodiversity and allows itself to be transformed by its cultures.
This Meeting is not only an institutional meeting, but a concrete expression of missionary synodality, where pastors will be able to share their challenges, experiences, lessons learned, and proposals to continue building together a Church with the flavor, color, and heart of the Amazon.
“May God bless us and we await you with much love,” concludes Cardinal Barreto.