Cuzco: Deep within the dense forests of the Peruvian Amazon, a unique form of evangelization is taking root one that listens, contemplates, and respects the sacredness of nature and the culture of its people. Sr. Giovanna Llerena Alfaro, a Dominican Missionary of the Rosary, together with her companions, is walking side by side with the Indigenous communities of Bajo Urubamba to promote what she calls an “Indigenous Church with an Amazonian face.”
The Peruvian Amazon is not only a cradle of extraordinary biodiversity but also home to communities whose cultural and spiritual wealth is deeply tied to the land. In such a context, preaching the Gospel means more than proclaiming words; it requires humility, presence, and the ability to “remove one’s shoes” in reverence for sacred ground. For Sr. Giovanna, this means setting aside preconceived ideas and instead embracing dialogue, encounter, and accompaniment.
For the past seven years, Sr. Giovanna has lived in Cuzco’s jungle frontier, carrying forward the legacy of the first missionaries who reached these lands. “I feel this is part of my congregational DNA,” she explains, highlighting how her congregation’s charism to serve where the Church is most in need naturally led her to the Amazon. Since her youth, she felt drawn to missionary life, and her early years as an obstetrician on the edge of the jungle prepared her for this profound vocation.
Her mission, along with two other sisters and Dominican friars, spans 26 communities across four ethnic groups: the Matsigenkas, Asháninkas, Kakintes, and Nantis. Reaching these villages often means traveling hours along turbulent rivers, bringing both the Word of God and concrete support to people who live in isolation. The effort is not only about preaching but also forming pastoral leaders capable of rooting faith within their own cultural traditions.
In the mission outposts of Kirigueti and Timpía, Sr. Giovanna and her community provide young people from different Indigenous groups with access to secondary education something absent in their remote hometowns. These centers are more than schools; they are spaces of encounter, personal growth, and leadership training. By fostering education, the sisters are nurturing future leaders who can uplift their communities while staying anchored in their faith and heritage.
Since beginning her work in Bajo Urubamba in 2018, Sr. Giovanna has witnessed a transformation. Communities, once silent and hesitant, are finding their voice. Pastoral agents now feel empowered to defend their rights and respond to the pressures of extractive industries operating in their territories. The quiet bonds of friendship and trust built over years are maturing into a strong, resilient Indigenous Church.
Sr. Giovanna’s mission embodies Pope Francis’ call for a Church that is incarnated in local realities, a Church that learns as much as it teaches. The Indigenous Church that is slowly emerging in Peru’s Amazon is not an imposition of foreign structures but a living community that recognizes itself as part of the land, the people, and their spiritual traditions.
This ongoing work, often hidden in the silence of the forest, testifies to the transformative power of patient accompaniment, intercultural respect, and faith that flows like the rivers of the Amazon quietly yet forcefully shaping the future.