Pope Francis shared an emotional video message addressed to Mexicans in which he reminded the country of the “great luck” of having the Virgin of Guadalupe and encouraged all Mexicans to “remain Guadeloupan.”
The video was broadcast on October 28 by Héctor Sulaimán Saldivar, founding member of the pontifical foundation Scholas Ocurrentes in Mexico. In the recording, Pope Francis recalled his visits to the country, one before becoming Pontiff and another in 2016, on an apostolic trip.
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On that trip, on February 13, 2016, the Holy Father visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, where he prayed in silence in front of the image of the Virgin and celebrated a Eucharist in the sanctuary, also known as “la Villa.”
“When I was sitting looking at the guadalupana… Time passed, they had to take me out; I didn’t realize,” the Pope recalls in the video.
“You Mexicans are very lucky, the Lady, the Guadalupana, the mother of the God for whom we live,” stated the Holy Father. “Turn to her,” he added.
Mexico has a population of about 126 million people, of which almost 80% declare themselves Catholic, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Pope Francis shared that he has been told that “even those who do not believe in God” venerate the Virgin of Guadalupe. For this reason, the Pontiff urged Mexicans to “continue to be Guadalupans.”
“May God bless you,” he concluded.
Diego López Colin
I am a graduate of Journalism at the Carlos Septién García School with experience in religious institutional communication. Since 2016 I have been writing for digital media and, since 2018, I have reported the most important news about Catholic events in Mexico for the EWTN news channel. ACI Prensa correspondent in Mexico since 2023.