Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, the newly appointed archbishop of Guadalajara, hopes this weekend’s visit of Pope Benedict XVI will help cool the climate of violence in Mexico.
While the pope’s March 23-26 visit to the state of Guanajuato will be a “joyous occasion,” Robles also urged Mexicans to “open their hearts and ears” to his message, which he speculated would allude to the current situation of violence gripping the nation.
Adding his perspective to the visit this week was Javier Sicilia, the poet and writer whose son was murdered last year at the hands of a drug gang. Sicilia subsequently launched a nationwide campaign calling for a reexamination of government policy regarding the war on drugs. Thursday, he called on Benedict XVI to make “an evangelical gesture” to the victims of violence in Mexico that includes an “embrace” for the young people abused by Catholic priests.
Schedule
The pope arrives at the Guanajuato International Airport at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23. One hour later, after a welcoming ceremony, he will be driven the 32.5 kilometers to his place of residence, the Colegio Miraflores in Leon.
A wall of more than 80,000 volunteers will line the streets to police an estimated two million people expected to turn out to catch a glimpse of the bishop of Rome.
This will be the first of five opportunities Mexicans will get to see the pope riding through the streets in his custom-made, bullet-proof vehicle known as the Popemobile.
The public highlight of Saturday’s itinerary will be a 6.9-kilometer ride, starting at 5 p.m., from the Glorieta Santa Fe to the Casa del Conde Rul, where Benedict will meet with President Felipe Calderon at 6 p.m. After this he will greet children in Leon’s Plaza de la Paz. At 7:30 p.m. the pope will be driven 19 kilometers from the Puerta del Milenio back to the Colegio Miraflores.
More than 300,000 people are expected to attend a mass given by Benedict XVI in the Bicentennial Park in Silao on Sunday, March 25, 10 a.m. Later he will celebrate vespers with the Mexican and Latin American bishops in Leon’s Cathedral. He will travel the five kilometers to and from the cathedral in the Popemobile.
Because of his advanced age of 85, the pope has chosen a light schedule for the trip, with plenty of long rest periods.
The departure ceremony for Benedict XVI is scheduled Monday, March 26, 9:30 p.m. at the Guanajuato International Airport. He then flies off for a three-day visit to Cuba before returning to Rome.
For full information about the pope’s visit to Mexico go to www.benedictomexico.mx.
All the activities of Benedict XVI in Mexico will be broadcast extensively on Mexican television networks.
Protests against the Pope’s visit planned in several cities are not expected to draw large numbers.