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.
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