More than 40,000 young people will make a pilgrimage to Christ the King to commemorate martyrs in Mexico

In commemoration of the martyrs who have suffered for their faith and the lack of justice, more than 40,000 young people are expected to participate in the pilgrimage to Christ the King, at the monument located on Cerro del Cubilete, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, this January 25.

This year, the event has as its motto “May our footprints lead us to eternity.” In an interview with ACI Prensa, Andrea Perea, president of Testimonio y Esperanza—the movement organizing the pilgrimage—explained that this phrase was chosen to pay tribute to two young organizers of the pilgrimage who were murdered half a century ago: Juan Bosco and César Fernando .

Both young people, members of the Mexican Catholic Youth Action (ACJM), were murdered in 1975 during the second pilgrimage to the Monument to Christ the King. The murder of these young people was never clarified by the authorities.

A plaque placed on the slopes of the Cubilete hill remembers that both young people, with their death, “left public testimony of their faith in Christ and their fidelity to the Church. “They died for God and for their country.”

Perea highlighted that the objectives of this year’s pilgrimage are three: “First, remember these two young people. Second, remind our authorities of the impunity for their murders. And third, send a message to all young Catholics in Mexico: dying for Christ is always gain.”

Dressed in red commemorating those who “have given their lives to Christ”

Young people were invited to attend dressed in red. Perea explained that this color symbolizes “the blood spilled not only by Juan Bosco and César Fernando, but by all the Mexican martyrs, by all our murdered priests, by all the lay people and nuns who were also murdered.”

“The Church continues to suffer attacks and continues to suffer acts of violence and we, this Cup, do it in honor of them. It is not an act of rebellion or protest, it is an act of commemorating the souls of thousands of people, men and women, who have given their lives to Christ,” said the young woman.

Current context

Perea also reflected on the current situation in Mexico, stating that “the situation we are experiencing in the country is no surprise to any Mexican: a situation of violence and insecurity” in which everyone has responsibility, perhaps “not with actions, but with omissions.”

In this context, the pilgrimage seeks to inspire young people to become a “Church on the way out, a Church that encourages the youngest to care for their nation. If we live in this Mexico it is because God has thought of us for this moment.”

Likewise, the pilgrimage aims to inspire participants to become “agents of change from the community and from the union”, remembering that “we are not alone and we have a task: to sanctify ourselves. But no saint became a saint by omitting or avoiding working for the common good of the society in which Christ thought of us.”

Context of the Jubilee of Hope

This year, the pilgrimage will have as a reference the Jubilee of Hope that the Catholic Church celebrates during 2025. The path to Cerro del Cubilete will be an opportunity for thousands of young people to gather at the feet of Christ the King, “not only to honor him, but to thank him for all the graces received since 2024 and to clearly ask him for this 2025,” said Andrea Perea.

“It is a very beautiful way to start the year and a way in which thousands of hearts definitely gather at the feet of Christ the King,” he concluded.