On the 29th October, 2025, the friars of the Franciscan Province of Saints Peter and Paul in Michoacán, Mexico, gathered in El Pueblito, Querétaro, to conclude the Jubilee Year commemorating the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Franciscan Order in Michoacán and western Mexico.
The celebration began in the Parish of St Francis Galileo with a Holy Hour led by the Provincial Minister. Afterwards, a procession took place to the Basilica of Our Lady of El Pueblito in El Pueblito, Querétaro. Also in attendance were the Sisters of the Order of Saint Clare, the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the brothers and sisters of the Secular Franciscan Order, and civil authorities.
The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Br. Enrique Gutiérrez, OFM, Provincial Minister, accompanied by Br. Ignacio Ceja, OFM, Vicar General of the Order, and the Provincial Ministers who make up Our Lady of Guadalupe Conference of Central America and the Caribbean.
At the end of the celebration, Br. Ignacio Ceja read a moving message sent by the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, to all the friars of the Province of Michoacán. After the celebration, a fraternal gathering was held in the friary garden, where typical Michoacán and Querétaro cuisine was enjoyed in a festive atmosphere enlivened by traditional local music.
Thus, in this fraternal and festive atmosphere, we closed the celebrations for this Year of Grace. May the Lord grant us to continue living faithfully the charism inherited from St Francis, to continue the arduous task of sowing the Gospel with the witness of our lives, and to respond with enthusiasm and creativity to the challenges that present themselves in our world today.
Long live the Franciscan Province of Saints Peter and Paul of Michoacán!, a fertile cradle of the Church in central and western Mexico.
By: The Provincial Chronicler
