Guanajuato, Mexico – Conclusion of the Jubilee Celebration

After a series of religious and cultural events throughout the past year, the celebration of the 450th year of the canonical foundation of the Province of Saints Peter and Paul of Michoacán in Mexico has concluded with a Solemn Mass on November 3, 2015 celebrated by the General Minister, Fr. Michael A. Perry. The Province, located close to the center of the nation and spread out in various states (Michoacán, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Chihuahua), has 211 solemnly professed friars and 31 friars in temporary profession. Its work of evangelization is principally carried out in pastoral work and in education. The Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated in the atrium of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in the city of Acámbaro, one of the most ancient Franciscan presence in Mexico (1526). A great number of the faithful and priests participated in the celebration. Among them were: the delegate of the Cardinal of Morelia, Rev. Alberto Suárez Inda, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lázaro Cárdenas, Most Rev. Armando Ortiz Aguirre, the friars of the Province and other Religious, the representatives of the local clergy, a group of Poor Clares, the Definitor General for Latin America, the five Provincial Ministers of Mexico, the Custos of the Caribbean and the Provincial Vicar of the Province of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" of Central America. At the end of the Eucharist, the General Minister had the opportunity to greet the friars of the Province as well as the faithful who attended the event including the indigenous group “purépecha,” who is served by the friars in their work of evangelization. Here is the text of the General Minister’s homily in Spanish: [attachments size=small fields="caption" target=1 docid="9817"] [gallery link="file" ids="9792,9793,9794,9802,9816,9815"]