Towards a synodal Church that listens, cares and reconciles
“We meet again!”
With joy, the Presidency of theEcclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA)calls the bishops of the 105 local Churches of the Pan-Amazonian region toMeeting of Bishops of the Amazon, which will be held fromAugust 17-20, 2025, at the headquarters of theCELAM, in Bogotá, Colombia.
Six years after the Amazon Synod (2019) and five years after the Apostolic ExhortationDear Amazon, this meeting will be aA key time for communion, discernment, and territorial listening, to continue making progress towards an increasingly synodal Church, embodied and committed to integral ecology.
Why this Meeting?
The objective is to promote a space for listening and dialogue between nearly100 bishops from the nine Amazonian countries, to share hopes and challenges, and offer guidance that strengthens CEAMA’s service to local Churches.
Inspired by the recentFinal Document of the Synod on Synodality (2024)This meeting aims to respond to the call for concrete and immediate changes that make the synodal journey visible at all levels of the Church:
“Without concrete changes in the short term, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible…”(DF Sinodalidad, no. 94)
Topics that mark the way
Proposed by Cardinal Pedro Barreto, SJ (President of CEAMA), these axes guide our communication strategy and pastoral reflection:
- Unity in diversity
- Adherence to the Second Vatican Council and its projection in documents such asLight of the Gentiles, Praise be to youand the Final Document of the Amazon Synod
- Synodality as an ecclesial style
- Bridges of dialogue to be a single people of peace
A process already underway
CEAMA has promoted virtual and in-person spaces with bishops from the region, fostering coordination and listening to the territories. To date, nearly100 bishopshave confirmed their participation from Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
This process has already been a sign of pastoral communion, animated by the desire to build together a Church with an Amazonian face.
The logistical team of the CEAMA Executive Secretariat is preparing every detail to ensure the meeting is experienced with fraternity, spiritual depth, and pastoral coherence.
The place: CELAM, the pastoral heart of the continent
The Meeting will take place in theLatin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), a space where processes such as Medellín and Aparecida germinated, and which today becomes fertile ground for new seeds of the Amazon Synod.
A symbol that inspires us
We resume theoriginal logo of the Amazon Synod, created by the Brazilian artist Aurélio Fred (Ateliê 15), full of spirituality, culture and missionary meaning:
- A living and moving leaf, symbol of the Holy Spirit and Amazonian life
- A the indígena way, which represents ancestral wisdom and the fabric of the peoples
- A diverse palette, a reflection of the nine Amazonian countries in communion
- And river that flows into the cross, a sign of following Jesus and our Christian identity
More than an emblem, this logo expresses the spirituality of caring, of walking together, and the flow of the Spirit.
A key stage for the Church in the Amazon
It is Meeting of Bishops of the Amazonrepresents adecisive stage in the consolidation of Amazonian synodality, as a prelude and key step towards theCEAMA 2026 General AssemblyIt will be a deep space ofecclesial communion and pastoral discernment, where theepiscopal collegiality, the territorial co-responsibilityand thelisten to the cries of the peoples and of the common homeThey intertwine as pillars of a Church that journeys from and with the Amazon. This is not just a meeting, but a living expression of the ecclesiology of synodality, embodied in the territory, with a prophetic and outward-looking face.
As he reminded usCardinal Claudio Hummes, prime president of the CEAMA:
“The Church in the Amazon cannot walk without the feet of the bishops.”
And as he exhortedPope Francisat the opening of the Amazon Synod:
“May the fire of the mission not be extinguished.”
Both phrases resonate strongly today, animating the heart of the Amazonian episcopate and renewing our shared commitment to a Church deeply connected to the historical, cultural, and spiritual processes of the peoples of the Amazon.