More than 30,000 Mexican youth make pilgrimage to Shrine of Christ the King

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 2, 2011 / 15:57 pm

Some 30,000 Mexican young people made a pilgrimage Jan. 29-30 to the Shrine of Christ the King located on Cubilete Hill in the Mexican State of Guanajuanto.

Organized by the association Testimonio y Esperanza, the pilgrimage is in its 28th year and is an expression of the unity of the Mexican youth in their desire to publicly express their faith.

The young people made the three-hour walk up Cubilete Hill, which reaches an altitude of 8,200 feet, to participate in Mass at the feet of the huge statue of Christ the King.

Before the pilgrimage, the president of Testimonio y Esperanza, Victor Leon, said the event is a call to continue in “the struggle for peace.” He acknowledged that this is a “constant struggle, which we young people will not cease to carry out.”

Leon said Mexicans must not fall prey to indifference or to blaming society, as “the main cause of our problems is that we have abandoned the moral and ethical foundations for our actions.”

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to Mexico said the pilgrimage is a symbolic act for young people “to reflect on their role in society and to manifest their desire to participate.”

The youth “can do much, but they need to work with dedication, as a group and as a community.  Young people need to change their personal lives in order to change those around them,” he said.