Pope Francis' Points to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Letter to Mexico on 200th Independence Anniversary "May she continue to be for all of you the sure guide that leads you to communion and full life in her son Jesus..."
Pope Francis sent a letter to Mexico’s bishops for the September 27th celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Latin American nation’s final independence from Spain.
FULL TEXT:
Letter from Pope Francis on the occasion of the Consummation of Independence
To His Excellency Most Reverend
Bishop Rogelio Cabrera López
President of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate
Dear brother:
On the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, I want to extend a cordial greeting to you and to the other brother bishops, to the national authorities and to the entire People of Mexico. Celebrating independence is affirming freedom, and freedom is a gift and a permanent achievement. For this reason, I join in the joy of this celebration and, at the same time, I hope that this very special anniversary will be a propitious occasion to strengthen the roots and reaffirm the values that build them as a nation.
To strengthen the rootsIt is necessary to re-read the past, taking into account both the lights and the shadows that have shaped the history of the country. This retrospective look necessarily includes a process of purification of memory, that is, recognizing the mistakes made in the past, which have been very painful. For this reason, on various occasions, both my predecessors and myself have asked forgiveness for personal and social sins, for all actions or omissions that did not contribute to evangelization. In that same perspective, neither can the actions that, in more recent times, were committed against the Christian religious sentiment of a large part of the Mexican people, causing profound suffering. But we do not evoke the pains of the past to stay there, but to learn from them and continue taking steps,
The anniversary they are celebrating invites us to look not only to the past to strengthen our roots, but also to continue living in the present and to build the future with joy and hope, reaffirming our values.that have constituted them and identify them as a People –values for which many of your predecessors have fought so hard and even given their lives– such as independence, union and religion. And at this point, I would like to highlight another event that will undoubtedly mark a whole journey of faith for the Mexican Church in the coming years: the celebration, in a decade, of the 500 years of the apparitions of Guadalupe. In this commemoration, it is beautiful to remember that, as expressed by the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of national Independence, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe taken by Father Hidalgo from the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, symbolized a struggle and a hope that culminated in the "three guarantees" of Iguala forever printed in the colors of the flag. Mary of Guadalupe, The Morenita Virgin, addressing in a particular way to the smallest and most needy, favored brotherhood and freedom, reconciliation and inculturation of the Christian message, not only in Mexico but in all the Americas. May she continue to be for all of you the sure guide that leads you to communion and full life in her son Jesus Christ.
May Jesus bless all the sons and daughters of Mexico, and may the Holy Virgin take care of them and protect them with her heavenly mantle. And please don't forget to pray for me.
Fraternally,
Rome, St. John Lateran, September 16, 2021
Francis
Letter from Pope Francis on the occasion of the Consummation of Independence
To His Excellency Most Reverend
Bishop Rogelio Cabrera López
President of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate
Dear brother:
On the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, I want to extend a cordial greeting to you and to the other brother bishops, to the national authorities and to the entire People of Mexico. Celebrating independence is affirming freedom, and freedom is a gift and a permanent achievement. For this reason, I join in the joy of this celebration and, at the same time, I hope that this very special anniversary will be a propitious occasion to strengthen the roots and reaffirm the values that build them as a nation.
To strengthen the rootsIt is necessary to re-read the past, taking into account both the lights and the shadows that have shaped the history of the country. This retrospective look necessarily includes a process of purification of memory, that is, recognizing the mistakes made in the past, which have been very painful. For this reason, on various occasions, both my predecessors and myself have asked forgiveness for personal and social sins, for all actions or omissions that did not contribute to evangelization. In that same perspective, neither can the actions that, in more recent times, were committed against the Christian religious sentiment of a large part of the Mexican people, causing profound suffering. But we do not evoke the pains of the past to stay there, but to learn from them and continue taking steps,
The anniversary they are celebrating invites us to look not only to the past to strengthen our roots, but also to continue living in the present and to build the future with joy and hope, reaffirming our values.that have constituted them and identify them as a People –values for which many of your predecessors have fought so hard and even given their lives– such as independence, union and religion. And at this point, I would like to highlight another event that will undoubtedly mark a whole journey of faith for the Mexican Church in the coming years: the celebration, in a decade, of the 500 years of the apparitions of Guadalupe. In this commemoration, it is beautiful to remember that, as expressed by the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of national Independence, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe taken by Father Hidalgo from the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, symbolized a struggle and a hope that culminated in the "three guarantees" of Iguala forever printed in the colors of the flag. Mary of Guadalupe, The Morenita Virgin, addressing in a particular way to the smallest and most needy, favored brotherhood and freedom, reconciliation and inculturation of the Christian message, not only in Mexico but in all the Americas. May she continue to be for all of you the sure guide that leads you to communion and full life in her son Jesus Christ.
May Jesus bless all the sons and daughters of Mexico, and may the Holy Virgin take care of them and protect them with her heavenly mantle. And please don't forget to pray for me.
Fraternally,
Rome, St. John Lateran, September 16, 2021
Francis
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