One year after the first Amazon Water Summit, the Amazonian Church renewed its commitment to listen to, care for, and defend water as a source of life and a gift of creation.
More than 70 people—including young people, students, members of the Laudato Si’ Movement, and pastoral workers from the Apostolic Vicariates of Iquitos and San José del Amazonas—gathered on Saturday, September 26, at the Padres Agustinos Centennial Complex to reflect on the journey thus far and plan for new challenges.
The event served as a space for gathering, reflection, and dialogue on the main themes addressed during the first Summit. Through group work and opportunities for discussion, participants shared experiences and proposals aimed at strengthening communities’ commitment to caring for and defending water in the Amazonian territories.
“Water Speaks for Us”
During the gathering, Father César Caro, apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of San José del Amazonas, emphasized that a commitment to water also involves cultivating a deep attitude of listening.
“We speak for water, but at many moments—as here at the Summit—water speaks for us.”
His words express one of the key elements that has shaped this ecclesial process: listening to the territories, communities, and peoples of the Amazon, recognizing in their experiences and wisdom a fundamental voice for understanding the challenges facing the Amazon.
The defense of water is thus presented not only as an environmental concern but as a dimension that involves the lives of communities, their territories, their cultures, and their future.
A Process That Continues to Grow
For Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas of the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos, the path begun with the Summit reflects a process that has been taking shape within the Amazonian Church.
“I believe that this decision we have been making as the Amazonian Church to discuss water is something new, and it is not just our issue. It is the Spirit who is guiding us to see that this is the right path.”
The first Amazonian Water Summit, held in Iquitos, brought together more than 400 participants, far exceeding initial expectations. Since then, the initiative has continued to create spaces for dialogue and collaboration among communities, pastoral leaders, and local Churches across different regions of the Amazon.
What began as a local initiative gradually took on an ecclesial and international dimension, built on listening, dialogue, and the search for shared responses to the threats affecting water and Amazonian ecosystems.
Caring for Water: A Dimension of Faith
During the Eucharistic celebration that concluded the event, Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas recalled that defending water also means defending the Amazon and God’s creation.
From this perspective, caring for our Common Home is part of the Church’s evangelizing mission and calls on Christian communities to commit themselves to the lives of the peoples and to the protection of the territories they inhabit.
The celebration was also a time of thanksgiving for the journey undertaken during this first year and of prayer in the face of the challenges that continue to confront the Church and the Amazonian communities.
Puerto Maldonado: A New Horizon for the Journey
The process will have a new gathering in 2027, with the Second Amazon Water Summit to be held in Puerto Maldonado. This new stage will be an opportunity to continue listening to the peoples and territories, share experiences, and strengthen initiatives aimed at caring for and defending water.
One year after the first Summit, the Amazonian Church thus reaffirms a commitment that continues to grow from the territories: to listen to the cry of the water, to stand with those who defend it, and to promote a culture of care for our Common Home.
The process continues: we are water, we are life, we are hope.
