MEXICO CITY (AP) — Millions of worshipers gathered to celebrate Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, in honor of the country’s patron saint. But the Roman Catholic Church’s call for a ceasefire in Mexico’s ongoing cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country on Thursday.
Huge crowds gathered early in the day and sang the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in honor of the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.
Mariachi bands and traditional dance troupes were also present in the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial architecture.
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María Luisa Vázquez Mendoza, a 33-year-old housewife, walked 16 hours from neighboring Mexico state to visit the basilica on the north side of the capital and give thanks “for another year of life, and that my family is well. ”
“You feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close,” said Vázquez Mendoza. “Your body relaxes completely. You no longer feel pain or fatigue.”
Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for “a cessation of armed violence and hostile declarations.”
“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 the church’s website, Desde la Fe.
But in the north-central state of Guanajuato – which has the highest homicide rate of all 32 Mexican states – the day may have been even more violent than usual.
Police and prosecutors said a total of 15 dead bodies have been found on streets in several towns in Guanajuato, warning the death toll could be higher. In a macabre location, a pile of human remains was discovered on a highway near the town of Salvatierra, but authorities were still investigating how many victims were inside.
Local media said parts of dismembered human bodies were left in black garbage bags in the back of a pickup truck with a banner signed by a drug cartel.
According to official figures, Guanajuato saw an average of 8.5 murders per day in 2023.
Vázquez Mendoza said she hoped the call for a ceasefire could still prompt people to “become a little more human and aware.”
More than 11 million worshipers had visited the basilica in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Mexico’s patroness, authorities said.
Many had come on foot from distant villages, others rode bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica’s vast patio, where a sea of tents housed pilgrims who had slept through the night to greet the Virgin in the morning.
The cold temperature, the long walks and the wait to see the Virgin’s mantle in the Basilica did not discourage them. Many of the pilgrims walked the last kilometer carrying flowers or large paintings of the Virgin.
According to church tradition, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the native farmer Juan Diego in 1531 and her image was printed on his mantle, which is on display in the church. Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
Traditionally, those who have asked the Virgin of Guadalupe for help come in a sign of appreciation. Some, like street vendor Christofer Hernández, walked the final stretch to the Basilica barefoot or on their knees.
Arturo Rivas was one of 200 people who made the pilgrimage by bicycle from the nearby state of Tlaxacala, a journey of more than 100 kilometers.
“We are happy to come year after year,” Rivas said. “This is what our parents taught us.”
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