The Consolata Missionaries have been working among the people of the Amazon region in South America for more than 70 years. Since the beginning, they have established missions in the very depth of the forest so that its inhabitants could benefit most from their presence among them.
Good news is that another outpost will be opened this year, 2023, in the village of Mononguete, within the municipality of Solano, Caquetá, Colombia. The plan for this new mission stems from the desire of the local bishop, Mgr. Joaquim Pinzon Guiza, for the Church to be closer to its members.
Solano municipality territory is immense: made up of 106 villages which can be reached only by river, on foot or on horseback.
Solano counts 23,000 inhabitants: most of them are isolated indigenous groups living along the banks of the forest rivers. The area hosts one of the most beautiful natural parks of the world, the “Serranía del Chiribiquete”: home to flora and fauna species that have not yet been catalogued.
Solano is connected to the local capital, Florencia, by boat: a journey of around a hundred miles on the perilous waters of the Amazon forest rivers. Mononguete lies at the junction of two of them: the Caquetá and the Ortuegaza. Its population grows cassava, bananas, sugar cane, cocoa, corn and rice; and keeps hens, goats and pigs for daily consumption.
Cash crops are milk and cheese. However, the products’ transportation from the various villages to the main towns is possible only by river and is quite expensive.
The task to open the new mission, which will be dedicated to Saint Joseph, has been entrusted to Father Angelo Casadei, the Consolata missionary who is Pastor at Solano Mission.
On the chosen spot, there is already a chapel served by missionaries staying at the Solano mission. Once a residence is built, it will be possible for at least two missionaries to stay at Mononguete on a permanent basis.
The residence that Father Angelo has planned to build is made up of four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a laundry and a patio. The total cost of the construction amounts to $42,000. While Father Angelo has found donations for $20,000 dollars and the local Christians have pledged to contribute $12,000, he has turned to us for the remaining $10,000.