A total of 82 delegates from the five parishes of the Prelature of Lábrea (Amazon, Brazil) have met from January 25 to 29 in Tapauá to evaluate the pastoral work carried out and set the priority pastoral objectives for the next three years.
The XIV Assembly of the Prelature of Lábrea (Amazonas, Brazil) has meant a moment strong expression of Synodality, from the sense of co-responsibility and with many ideas to improve the service carried out by the clergy and religious and to promote the greatest and better missionary commitment of the laity.
The Assembly had as its theme “Purús: Life and Mission in the Dear Amazonia”, and as its motto “Wherever the torrent passes, every living thing that moves in it will live” (Ezekiel 47,9a).
The start of this process was at the end of December 2020, when the three main objectives of the assembly:
- How to apply the Synod of the Amazon in the Prelature of Labrea?
- Drafting and implementation of a new Plan for Initiation into Christian Life.
- Experience of Synodality and preparation of the Synod for Synodality (2023).
To prepare for the Tapauá meeting, two working documents were previously prepared, one for the first objective and another for the second, and a questionnaire for objective 3. The first document and the questionnaire were coordinated by the Augustinian Recollect Luis Antonio Fernández, while the document on Christian Initiation was coordinated by Éder Carvalho, priest attached to the Prelature.
Next and with the enriched documents and with the results of the questionnaire, the parish councils, grassroots and indigenous communities began a study process, reflection, enrichment and development of practical proposals to meet their objectives.
This is what has reached the deliberations of the delegates present in the Parish Hall de Tapauá, which hosted the final part of the Assembly, divided into six groups:
- Clergy representatives (14 delegates).
- Representatives of consecrated life (11 delegates)
- Lay coordinators of riverside communities and indigenous leaders (16 delegates);
- Coordinators of urban ecclesial communities (14 delegates):
- Laity “pillars of the Bread and the Word”, that is, coordinators of the celebration, of the Christian initiation and ongoing formation (13 delegates);
- Lay people “pillars of the Mission and of Charity”, that is, pastoral coordinators social and missionary (14 delegates).
Assembly dynamics
Every day there were celebratory moments in the morning and in the afternoon, as well as the Eucharist. The Liturgy had a clear Amazonian face, visible in the way the plenary hall was decorated, in the songs, in the riverside and indigenous symbology, in the presence of Nature.
On the afternoon of the 25th, the official opening took place, animated by the bishop prelate, the Augustinian Recollect Santiago Sánchez. After determining schedules, operating rules and daily organization, the opening Eucharist was held. The assembly dynamic had three steps:
- Work in groups to agree on practical proposals;
- presentation, reflection and discussion of the proposals in plenary sessions;
- general voting for the approval or rejection of each proposal.
The 26th was dedicated to the first objective: How to apply the Amazon Synod in the Prelature of Labrea? The Cardinal Archbishop of Manaus, Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, participated by telephone with a conference and reflection, followed by questions and comments.
He summarized the Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia of Pope Francis and the final document of the Synod. He spoke about integral conversion, the dimensions on which to work (pastoral, cultural, ecological and synodal) and the dreams of Pope Francis (social, cultural, ecological and ecclesial). He recalled that no dimension of reality can be left out of the mission of the Church in the Amazon.
The days 27 and 28 were dedicated to the second objective of the Assembly, until the approval of the Plan of Initiation to the Christian Life in the Prelature of Lábrea. The objective is that the baptized be more aware of their identity and mission. The new model will require much to the communities, includes new practices and a change of mentality, avoiding the sacramentalism and focusing on a “missionary, outgoing, and synodal” church.
The 29th was dedicated to Synodality and, after the Sunday Eucharist, there was a farewell dinner with the presence of the families that hosted the delegates in Tapauá. There were many who collaborated in one way or another, donating work and time so that the delegates could dedicate themselves to their homework: lodging, cooking, cleaning, decorations, etc.
A cultural act followed with thanks to everyone and a tribute to the missionaries with the most years of service in the Prelature: the bishop emeritus, the Augustinian Recollect Jesús Moraza; the priest Henrique Giera; and the Augustinian Recollect Miguel Ángel Peralta.
An assembly in an isolated world
It is not easy to organize this event in a place like the Brazilian Amazon, where there are no roads. Tapauá is also in the extreme north of the Prelature, so the delegates from the parishes of Pauiní, Lábrea, Canutama and Belo Monte-Foz de Tapauá had to move by river on a trip lasting several days.
For this, the ship “Gênesis” was rented, which, although it ended up completely full and the travelers they were rather tight, it was the cheapest resource available. Please note that between these trips and the stay in Tapauá, some delegates such as those from Pauiní had to be up to twenty days away from their homes.
During the trip, Eucharists were celebrated in Canutama, Foz de Tapauá and Tacacá, already within the Tapauá municipality. Despite the light rain, Tapauá was given a warm welcome, in the north port, with songs, fireworks and a procession to the nearby community of Our Lady of Aparecida.
For the return, at one o’clock in the morning on Monday, January 30, the delegates of out of Tapauá towards their homes, up the Purús river. In this case, the trip would take twice as long as the arrival, since now it went against the current.
If the Amazon is rich in biodiversity, the participants of the XIV Assembly of the Prelature of Lábrea were a sample of a global world. Counting on the missionaries, in addition to all of the Brazilians present there were four Spaniards, three Mexicans, a Honduran, a Salvadoran and a Congolese. In addition, from within Brazil, in addition to Amazonians, there were various missionaries from the rest of the country, especially from the south and southeast areas, from places like Espíritu Santo or Paraná.
Among the participants of the clergy and consecrated life, were present:
- Bishop prelate of Lábrea, Santiago Sánchez, Augustinian Recollect.
- Bishop emeritus of Lábrea, Jesús Moraza, Augustinian Recollect.
- Eight Augustinian Recollect missionaries: Miguel Ángel Peralta, Alfonso Lázaro, Luis Amílcar Reyes, Luis Antonio Fernández, Juan José Guzmán, José Arredondo, Roberto Carlos Alvarado, Sergio Perez.
- Priests of the Prelature of Labrea: Éder Carvalho and Henrique Giera.
- Priests and permanent deacon of the Diocese of Ponta Grossa, Paraná: Osvaldo,Fabio and Methodio.
- Three Augustinian Recollect missionaries sisters from the community of Lábrea: Marlene, Izaura and Yvone.
- Four Josephine sisters from the community of Belo Monte: Cláudia, Aparecida, Dorinha and Merinalva
- An Oblate religious of the Assumption from the community of Tapauá: Beatrice
- A seminarian from the Prelature, Thiago Mendes, close to his diaconal ordination.
One of the novelties of this XIV Assembly has been precisely in the missionary team of the Diocese of Ponta Grossa, Paraná. Thanks to their presence they are cared for specific to the rural communities located on the BR319 highway, within the municipality of Canutama. One of the priests, the permanent deacon and his wife live at kilometer 70 from this road, about seven hours from Lábrea, so in reality they are more near Porto Velho, capital of Rondônia.
And it is that over the years new communities have emerged created by settlers, Brazilians from the States in the south or center of Brazil that, even without owning the land, have settled throughout of highways BR319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), Transamazonica BR230 (Lábrea-Humaitá), and its branches, the dirt roads that go into the interior of the jungle for the exploitations of timber or livestock.