The election of Pope Leo XIV, on May 8, 2025, represents a significant moment for the universal Church and, in particular, for the peoples of the Amazon. Robert Francis Prevost, former bishop of Chiclayo and nationalized Peruvian, assumes the pontificate with a history of pastoral closeness with the communities of deep Peru. His election as the first American Pope, but deeply rooted in Latin America, opens new perspectives for the ecclesial mission in the Amazon biome.
A Pope with Latin American roots
Although born in Chicago, the new pontiff has developed a pastoral career marked by intercultural dialogue, the promotion of social justice and a deep sensitivity to the realities of the continent. His time in Peru was not only administrative: it was marked by the encounter with rural, indigenous and impoverished communities, many of them threatened by illegal mining, deforestation and systemic exclusion.
This experience, lived firsthand, connects him with the cry of the Amazon that Pope Francis collected in the encyclical Laudato Si’ and deepened in the exhortation Dear Amazonia (2020). In this continuity, Leo XIV now has the opportunity to reinforce the Church’s commitment to integral ecology and the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Amazon: key territory for the ecclesial mission
The Synod for the Amazon in 2019 marked a milestone for the Church. He gave a voice to the Amazonian communities and recognized their spiritual, cultural and ecological wealth. The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) was born as a result of this synodal process, with the call to live a Church with an Amazonian face, inculturated, intercultural and synodal. Under the new pontificate, this process is expected to not only continue but deepen.
He Pope Leo XIV has demonstrated, even before his election, affinity with the ecclesial reforms promoted by his predecessor. Their listening and mediation profile, as well as their commitment to training in contextual theology, can favor the consolidation of the Amazonian Rite as a legitimate and necessary liturgical expression in territories where faith is lived in an integrated way with the worldview of indigenous peoples.
Pastoral and environmental challenges
The current context demands a pastoral response articulated with environmental challenges. The Amazon continues to be threatened by extractive megaprojects, drug trafficking, human trafficking and the weakening of the institutional frameworks that should protect it. In this scenario, the Church has a prophetic role: to accompany the victims, defend life in all its forms, and promote an alternative development model.
The figure of the new Pope can be key to promoting the ecological leadership of the Church at a global level. His pontificate could be a catalyst for the voices of the Amazon to have a greater echo in international bodies, such as the COP30 to be held in Belém in November of this year. A call from Rome, supported by CEAMA, can strengthen political and pastoral advocacy in defense of the Common Home.
A renewed hope
The Amazon needs allies, not only politically and socially, but also spiritually. In that sense, Leo XIV represents renewed hope for the Church in the territory. His closeness to Francis’ legacy, combined with a concrete pastoral experience in the heart of Latin America, positions him as a bridge between the cries of the land and commitments to the poor.
CEAMA, as a space for ecclesial and territorial articulation, has the opportunity to walk with the new pontificate towards a more synodal, prophetic Church committed to the poor and creation. The election of Leo XIV can be read as a sign of the times: the Amazon remains at the heart of the Church, and the Church continues to be called to walk with the peoples who inhabit it.