The Salesians are indeed one of the congregations with the greatest presence in the Pan-Amazonian Region. They have been present for 125 years. They first arrived at the Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez, Ecuador, to work with the Shuar people.
Taking into account the convocation of the Synod for the Amazon, the Salesian Family has held several events at the international level and a book has been recently published entitled: "Salesian Amazon: the Synod challenges us."
Fr Martin Lasarte, Salesian, of the Salesian Missions Dicastery, and Fr Damásio Medeiros, Salesian, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, gathered in over 350 pages the reflections of the Pan-Amazonian Salesian Meeting held in Manaus in November 2018, and of the Seminars held at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome entitled: "Testimony of holiness with the Amazonian peoples" and "New ways for a Church with an Amazonian face". Also appearing are the results of the survey on the Salesian presence in the Amazon area and the interviews with Cardinal Claudio Hummes, President of the Panamanian Ecclesial Network "REPAM", its vice president, Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, and its executive secretary, Mauricio López Oropeza.
Fr Justino Sarmento Rezende, a Salesian, originally from the Amazon, says that the Salesians, in the midst of the indigenous peoples, "feel responsible to contribute also to the Synod with their experiences in the field of inculturation of the Salesian charism ... with an indigenous face."
Fr Lasarte then insists on three elements present in the opus: the Amazonian youth, the Amazonian cities and migrations, and the processes of faith capable of generating a ministerial church with an Amazonian face.
"The Salesian Amazon: the Synod challenges us" is a work that should be read "ad portas" of the special Synod for the Amazon, which will be held in Rome, from Sunday 6 October to Sunday 27 October 2019.
