The second webinar in the “Speaking with an Amazonian Heart” series brought together representatives of the Church in the Amazon to reflect on the inculturation of the faith, the spiritual expressions of the peoples, and the building of a Church with an Amazonian face and heart.
How can we celebrate the faith through the cultures, languages, and spiritualities of the Amazonian peoples? This was the question that guided the second webinar in the “Speaking with an Amazonian Heart” discussion series, held on Thursday, October 29, under the theme “The Amazonian Liturgy: Celebrating the Faith from the Amazonian Territories.”
The event brought together Monsignor Martín Quijano, bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Pucallpa (Peru); Monsignor Eugenio Coter, bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Pando (Bolivia); Father Diego Clavijo, a Salesian missionary from the Apostolic Vicariate of Yurimaguas (Peru); and Father Luca Zanta, coordinator of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Pucallpa.
During the meeting, participants shared pastoral experiences and reflections on the need to build a Church that recognizes the cultural diversity of the Amazon and allows peoples to express and celebrate their faith through their own identities, traditions, and ways of understanding life.
A Liturgy Rooted in the Identity of the Peoples
In his welcoming remarks, Monsignor Martín Quijano emphasized that liturgical celebration must integrate the cultural identity of the peoples, recognizing that there is no single cultural model for living and expressing the faith.
He noted that the Gospel is called to be incarnated in different cultures, respecting the particularities of each community while maintaining the unity of the Church. He also emphasized the importance of developing a liturgical framework that incorporates the experiences of Amazonian communities and allows the rites to be an authentic expression of their ecclesial identity.
For his part, Monsignor Eugenio Coter elaborated on the importance of understanding the liturgy as a communal experience of encounter with God. Drawing on his pastoral experience in Bolivia, he explained that a truly inculturated Church must listen to communities, recognize their ancestral knowledge, and understand the diversity of indigenous peoples, riverine communities, rural farmers, Afro-descendants, and urban dwellers.
“The celebration of faith is much more than simply introducing certain songs or attire. It requires this presence of the Church and this inculturation of the Church,” he said.
He also emphasized that nature and the land are part of the Amazonian celebratory experience, as they become spaces for encountering God. In this regard, he proposed recognizing the elements of creation, medicinal knowledge, and the symbols specific to each culture as expressions that can enrich the lived experience of faith.
The Gospel Is Incarnated in Language, Culture, and History
Drawing on his missionary experience among indigenous peoples, Father Diego Clavijo shared the pastoral journey he has undertaken with Achuar communities, highlighting five fundamental elements for an Amazonian liturgy: closeness and listening, recognition of native languages, the leading role of indigenous ministers, dialogue between the Gospel and cultures, and a commitment to caring for our Common Home.
The missionary emphasized that inculturation begins with respect, coexistence, and the ability to learn from the peoples. In this process, indigenous languages play a fundamental role, as they preserve the memory, knowledge, and identity of the communities.
He also shared some celebratory experiences, such as the use of masato as a sign of reconciliation and fraternity, and the incorporation of cultural symbols and expressions into liturgical settings.
“The pastoral and liturgical experience among the Achuar people reminds us that the Gospel becomes incarnate when a people can celebrate Jesus Christ through their own language, culture, and history,” he affirmed.
He also insisted that celebrating the faith entails assuming a communal responsibility to defend the territories, rivers, forests, and dignity of the Amazonian peoples.
Pope Leo XIV’s Visit: Listening, Sowing, and Celebrating
One of the highlights of the webinar was the presentation by Father Luca Zanta, who shared some details about the preparations for Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Pucallpa, scheduled for November 15, 2026.
He explained that the Apostolic Vicariate of Pucallpa has organized this visit around three verbs: listening, planting, and celebrating.
The first will be marked by the Holy Father’s encounter with the Amazonian peoples at Yarinacocha Lagoon. The second will be symbolized by the planting of a shihuahuaco tree in the cathedral square, as an expression of the intergenerational commitment to caring for our Common Home. Finally, the third moment will center on the celebration of the first Eucharist presided over by a pontiff in the Peruvian Amazon.
Father Zanta also presented some elements that express the dialogue between the Christian faith and Amazonian culture, such as the preparation of sacred oils with essences from medicinal plants, including palo santo, mountain cinnamon, matico, and palo rosa.
He also shared the significance of the liturgical objects that will accompany this celebration, including a chalice and a paten crafted by local artisans, inspired by the forms and materials of Amazonian tradition.
In particular, she explained the meaning behind the designs of the liturgical vestments created by the indigenous artist Shonon Bensho of the Shipibo-Konibo people, who envisions a space where the spiritual memory of the peoples and the Christian faith can meet.
“It is not a matter of placing one tradition alongside another as if they were closed off realities, but rather of imagining a creative space in which Amazonian culture and the Christian faith can recognize, listen to, and enrich one another,” was one of the points he shared during his remarks.
Intercultural Dialogue as a Necessary Path for the Church
In the concluding dialogue, the panelists agreed that Pope Leo XIV’s visit represents an opportunity to continue the process of recognizing the Amazon within the life of the universal Church, highlighting the richness of its peoples and their expressions of faith.
Father Luca Zanta emphasized that intercultural dialogue is not optional, but rather a necessary condition for evangelization, avoiding the repetition of practices of cultural imposition and fostering a Church that accompanies and protects Indigenous peoples.
Likewise, Father Diego Clavijo highlighted the contribution of Amazonian diversity to the entire Church, including new ways of understanding ministries and the participation of women and families in community life.
The webinar concluded with a call to recognize that the Amazon is not a homogeneous cultural reality, but a territory inhabited by diverse peoples, each with their own spiritualities, languages, histories, and ways of celebrating the faith.
The “Speaking with an Amazonian Heart” series is an initiative promoted by the Apostolic Vicariate of Pucallpa, with technical support from the Amazonian Center for Anthropology and Practical Application (CAAAP), REPAM Peru, and CEAMA, along with other academic and ecclesial institutions.
From the perspective of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), these spaces for reflection help strengthen the path toward a Church with an Amazonian face and heart, where the Gospel engages in dialogue with cultures, recognizes ancestral knowledge, and promotes a faith committed to the defense of life and the care of our Common Home.