Photo: Hundreds Gather in Juarez to Catch Glimpse of Pope John Paul II Relics and Pray for Peace
Hundreds of people gathered at a mass in Juarez Wednesday to honor the late Pope John Paul II.
The large mass was held in the future location of a building to be named after him.
A wax figure of the late pope has made it’s way to Juarez and people from both Juarez and El Paso waited in line for hours just to see it. The figure is dressed in papal attire and inside a crystal case, which also contains a vial of the former pope’s actual blood. While in Juarez, the relics resided in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Downtown Juárez.
As the relics were arriving, people lined up outside the cathedral in a manner fitting a parade, shouting, “!Que viva el papa!” (“Long live the pope!’). People lined up for hours to get a glimpse of the relics, with most of them coming from around Juarez or El Paso.
Many are hoping that the relic will once again “restore peace in Juarez,” as the area is one of many in Mexico that is currently suffering from the on-going violence caused by drug cartels.
According to the El Paso Times, Monsignor Ernesto Ascencio León, bishop of the Diocese of Juárez, asked parishioners to ask John Paul II to act as a mediator before the Lord.
‘Let’s ask him (the pope) to pray for us, to restore the peace and to put an end to the violence that has brought so much pain to Juárez.’
In Juarez alone, more than 8,500 people have been killed since 2008.
Friday, the relics continued with the ‘tour’ and headed to Chihuahua. Following that visit, they will be moved to Cuauhtemoc Madera on November 19th.
