Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting Mexico from March 23-26. It will be his first visit to the country, which John Paul II visited five times. It is the first leg of a two-country tour of Latin America. The Pope will visit Cuba for three days after leaving Mexico.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico, Archbishop Christophe Pierre said the people of the country are looking forward to the visit.
“I think the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Mexico is seen by the great majority of people in this country as a profound sign of hope,” he told Vatican Radio. “The Mexican people are a very religious people, with a deep experience of God, a deep experience of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, a deep experience also of what it means to be members of the Church. This religious experience – this Catholic experience – has been part and parcel of the life of the Mexican.”
He said the Mexican people see the Pope as a messenger of faith, hope, and peace.
“Especially today, when in Mexico we are living difficult experiences – in terms of violence, in terms of poverty, with the difficulty to migrate,” he said. “I think the visit of the Pope is seen as something which will help us to go through these difficult experiences, and to reinforce our faith in Christ and our belonging to the Church.”