SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The archbishop of Mexico City, Carlos Aguiar Retes, told reporters this week that he has presented a formal invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit Mexico.
Aguiar Retes said he extended the invitation on behalf of all of Mexico and the country’s Catholics.
Aguiar Retes is a Mexican cardinal who serves as the Archbishop of Mexico City. He reportedly had a brief meeting with the pope during the recent conclave held in the Sistine Chapel.
“Holy Father, I dare tell you that all of Mexico congratulates you and is with you,” Aguiar Retes says he told Pope Leo. “We’ll wait for you, whenever you want, whenever you see fit, whenever you decide — it would make holy Mary Guadalupe be very happy.”
The Virgin of Guadalupe is considered Mexico’s patron saint.
According to Aguiar Retes, the pope, who id from Chicago, told him he would consider it.
“Moments later as we said goodbye, he approached me to ‘please say hello to Mexico’s president and the Mexican people.'”
Days after Pope Leo XIV was elected, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would welcome the new pope to her country and would consider it a blessing.
The Vatican has not indicated whether the new pope has made a decision on visiting Mexico.
Pope Francis was the last pope to visit Mexico, arriving in Juarez on Feb. 17, 2016, for a five-stop visit to Mexico.
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