Guanajuato state, is described as the most observantly Catholic state in Mexico, which
in itself is the world's largest Catholic, Spanish-speaking country. Listen to
Emer McCarthy's report:
This
is the land that Pope Benedict has chosen for his very first meeting with the Mexican
people. The land that was the wellspring of an armed uprising against harsh anti-clerical
laws in the 1920s, a revolt for religious freedom that became known as the Cristeros’
War.
Saturday afternoon at 5pm local time, Pope Benedict will travel from Miraflores
convent in Leon, his residence for the duration of his stay, to the state capital
Guanajuato city. There, as per tradition, he will pay a closed door courtesy visit
to Head of State, President Felipe Calderon, in the Casa del Conte Rul, the seat
of the state government.
Following the meeting, Saturday evening the Holy
Father will make his way to Peace Square in the heart of the city to meet with groups
of school children, before his return journey to Leon, home to the Archdiocese, 58
kms away.
But between Leon and Guanajuato, on the summit of Cerra del Cubilete,
Beakon Hill, rises what is perhaps the most eloquent reminder of the profound religious
roots of this land: a giant bronze statue of Christ the King. It is a monument to
the martyrs of the faith, who died in the Cristeros war and whose motto was Viva
Cristo Rey. And beneath its outstretched arms in the Bicentennial Park on Sunday
morning, Pope Benedict will preside over an out door mass, the first of this Apostolic
voyage, his first on Mexican soil.