Tlaxcala, the oldest diocese in Mexico, celebrates 500 years with 500 hours of Eucharist

The Diocese of Tlaxcala, the oldest in Mexico, commemorates its fifth centenary of canonical erection with a day of 500 hours of continuous Eucharistic worship before the Blessed Sacrament, as an expression of gratitude and renewal of faith.

The initiative began on September 12 and will conclude on October 3, distributing among the 93 temples that make up the seven deanatos of the diocese. Each Deanery assumed 50 hours on duty.

In a statement it is pointed out that the objective of this activity is to prepare spiritually to celebrate the jubilee of the 500 years “as thanksgiving and renewal of faith.”

Likewise, parish priests, vicars and communities are invited to promote the initiative during Sunday masses and encourage families, parish and faithful groups in general to “join this moment of unity around Christ.”

This day of worship is part of the commemorative program for the five centuries of the diocese. At a press conference this September 23, the Diocese announced that on October 12 a Jubilee Eucharist will be held at 11:00 am (local time) in the Conciliar Seminary of Our Lady of Ocotlán, which will be chaired by Mons. Joseph Spiteri, Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico.

During that ceremony there will be a replica of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, three palms in memory of the holy martyrs, a heart that symbolizes Mary’s maternal love in her invocation of Ocotlán, and the missionary shipment of more than a thousand catechists will be made. That day the parish masses will be suspended so that the entire community participates in the solemn mass.

Likewise, it was reported that on October 13 the blessing and official consecration of the Holy Cathedral Church of Tlaxcala will be held – which was an old Franciscan convent dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption -, declared World Heritage by UNESCO in July 2021. Although the temple has historically worked as a cathedral, it had never been formally dedicated. The ceremony will also be chaired by the Apostolic Nuncio.

The first diocese in Mexico

He Tlaxcala diocese website He points out that this was the first episcopal headquarters established in the continental territory of New Spain. Although Pope Leo X instituted the Bishopric of Yucatan in 1519, he was never consolidated by population scarcity.

The history of the diocese begins with the arrival of the first evangelizers: “When the Spaniards arrived to the American continent, they brought with them the Catholic faith. Together with Hernán Cortés arrived Fray Bartolomé de Olmedo and the cleric Juan Díaz who celebrated the first Mass in New Spain in lands of what is now Mexico, in 1519,” adds the website.

It was until 1527 that Dominican friar Julián Garcés arrived in Tlaxcala, took possession of the Franciscan monastery and formally established the episcopal headquarters in the church of the Assumption.

Although later the headquarters moved to the state of Puebla, Tlaxcala retains its historical roots. After centuries of changes and the temporary loss of the name of the diocese, Pope John XXIII reinstated in 1959 the current diocese, whose faithful annually celebrates their history and mission, thanking “the gift of life and Mary already his intercession in favor of this people who loves the loves,” says the diocese.