From September 1 to 3 of 2026, bishops and pastoral representatives from Bolivia, Peru and Chile will meet in Cochabamba to participate in the Tenth Meeting of Bishops of the Triple Border, a space for dialogue, communion, and community intervention in the complex migratory scenario that the southern Andean region is experiencing.
The meeting is titled “Walls that separate, faith that unites: Pastoral response to the new challenges of integration in the Triple Border”. According to the document, these meetings of the bishops of the border dioceses of Chile, Peru and Bolivia arose as a space to jointly respond to the situations affecting people in human mobility.
The call occurs in a context where xenophobia has increased, the hardening of border controls, the temporary closure of crossings, and the increase in bureaucratic and legal requirements for human mobility. That is why the Catholic Church presents its presence as a space of welcome and service, with the purpose of being “refugio, voz e instrumento de caridad” para quienes buscan un futuro más digno.
Pastoral response beyond borders
The meeting has the purpose of jointly analyzing the causes and repercussions of the current migratory reality and articulating coordinated pastoral actions. Among its objectives is to promote the unwavering respect for the human rights of people in transit and to build bridges of fraternity and solidarity integration that overcome both geographical limits and state barriers.
During the meeting, participants are sharing different perspectives on the reality that crosses the Triple Border between Bolivia, Peru and Chile, with special attention to the conditions faced by people in human mobility. In this context, the Ombudsmanaddresses the situation of human rights in the highland cross-border corridor, while the International Organization for Migration presents elements related to forced migration, human trafficking, and smuggling of persons.
To these contributions is added the perspective of Caritas Bolivia, which presents the context of Latin American migration and a diagnosis of the border realities. The pastoral teams from the three countries are also working on the different situations of vulnerability that arise at each border, based on a comparative matrix that will later be shared in plenary.
Pastoral perspective from the welcome
The program of the meeting also incorporates a moment of “Judging” and pastoral illumination, in which participants engage in dialogue about what was gathered during the first days with a theological-pastoral perspective. The work is guided by the approach “Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating”, with the contribution of a specialist in pastoral theology from the CLAMOR Network.
The experience of those who accompany migrants occupies another of the central spaces. The Scalabrinians in Bolivia share the work developed in the Migrant Houses and the experiences related to the care of people in human mobility. Based on these testimonies, the participants address the issue of dignified reception and generate a space for joint reflection.
The work of the bishops moves towards the definition of shared actions. In the stage called “Acting”, the participating dioceses are working on the development of a Trinational Coordination Plan, which will be presented and reviewed in plenary with the aim of reaching common agreements. The process also includes the development of a Joint Declaration of the Bishops of the Triple Border.
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