VOA News | Friday, December 13, 2024 
Millions mark Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, but calls for a truce in drug violence go unheeded 

MEXICO CITY — Millions of faithful gathered to mark Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country’s patron saint. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in Mexico’s cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country Thursday. Enormous crowds gathered early in the day, singing the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mananitas” at Mexico City’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531. Mariachi bands and traditional dance groups were also present at the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial-era architecture. Maria Luisa Vazquez Mendoza, 33, a homemaker, walked for 16 hours from neighboring Mexico state to visit the basilica on the capital’s north side and give thanks “for another year of life, and that my family is all right.” “You feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close,” said Vazquez Mendoza. “Your body relaxes completely. You don’t feel pain or tiredness anymore.” Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for “a halt to the armed violence and hostile statements.” “In a country where violence has left painful wounds in families and polarization among the public, this is a proposal to reflect, and act in favor of reconciliation and human dignity,” the council wrote on a church website, Desde la Fe…Read more