Pope Francis to celebrate mass at Indian church for trip to Mexico


The interior of the Santo Domíngo de Guzmán church in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Pope Francis will celebrate a mass at an Indian church and will issue an edict supporting the use of indigenous languages during his trip to Mexico next week.

Pope Francis will travel to San Cristobal de Las Casas, a town located in Chiapas, a Mexican state known for its indigenous culture and activism, on Monday, February 15, according to the Vatican schedule. The mass will include readings in three indigenous languages, the Associated Press reported.

During the visit, Pope Francis will support the use of indigenous languages in ceremonies, the AP said. Prior leaders of the Catholic Church have discouraged the inclusion of tribal cultural elements in religious rituals.

"Still today, and not just in Chiapas but in other parts of Mexico and Latin America, some people don’t take into account their (indigenous) languages, their customs, their rites, they despise all that as if it were something backward, when in fact they have a great wisdom," Felipe Arizmendi, the bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, told the AP.

Pope Francis will wrap up the trip on February 17 with a mass in Juarez, near the U.S.-Mexico border. As part of the Two Nations One Faith cross-border event, a dance group from the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe, will perform.

Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, made his first visit to the United States last September and included members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe from California during a mass in Washington, D.C. He did not directly address the Catholic Church's mistreatment of Native Americans.

Get the Story:
Pope Francis visit to celebrate Mexico’s indigenous church (AP 2/7)
Pope to OK use of indigenous languages for Mass in Mexico (AP 2/5)

Join the Conversation

Related Stories
Tigua Tribe dance group performs at event featuring Pope Francis (2/2)
Steven Newcomb: Religious doctrine guides Indian law and policy (10/08)
Torivio Fodder: Pope Francis ignores sins of Indian mission era (10/06)
Alex Jacobs: Pope Francis honors symbol of genocide in America (10/5)
Sam Campbell: Catholic Church continues to celebrate genocide (10/2)
Steven Newcomb: Pope Francis endorses system of domination (9/28)
Pope Francis fails to address mistreatment of California tribes (9/24)
Simon Moya-Smith: Pope Francis must offer more than apology (9/24)
Ballet company from Osage Nation to perform for Pope Francis (9/24)
Papal mass features reading in Native language from California (9/23)
Day of Mourning observed as Pope Francis delivers mass in DC (9/23)
Two from Muwekma Ohlone Tribe taking part in sainthood mass (9/21)
Documentary about Doctrine of Discovery to be screened in DC (9/11)
Pope Francis to bestow sainthood on founder of Indian missions (9/10)
Al Villanueva: Indian mission founder did not commit genocide (9/7)
Steven Newcomb: The religious basis of Doctrine of Discovery (09/02)
Steven Newcomb: Pope in denial about genocide of our peoples (08/21)
Opinion: Church's apology not enough for some Native people (8/18)
Steven Newcomb: Church set out to dehumanize Indian people (08/12)
Steven Newcomb: Dehumanizing 'Indians' to take their lands (08/06)
Valentin Lopez: Founder of brutal Indian missions was no saint (08/04)
Peter d'Errico: Seeking action after apology from Pope Francis (07/30)
Steven Newcomb: Pope Francis takes a first step with apology (07/14)
Gyasi Ross: Pope Francis issues apology to indigenous peoples (07/13)
Elizabeth Hawksworth: Church owes apology to Native people (06/23)
Steven Newcomb: Colonizers of Indian land now viewed as saints (06/08)
School apologizes for teaching song about brutal Indian mission (05/21)
Opinion: Join 'Long March to Rome' to support indigenous rights (05/04)
California weighs replacement of statue of Indian mission figure (04/29)
Steven Newcomb: Church celebrates agent of Native genocide (4/28)
Peter d'Errico: Pope fails to address genocide of Native peoples (4/27)
Peter d'Errico: A mistake with sainthood for Indian mission figure (02/06)
Steven Newcomb: Pope celebrates church's legacy of genocide (2/4)
RNS: Critics question sainthood for the 'Columbus of California' (2/3)
Sainthood for founder of brutal California Indian mission system (01/22)
Steven Newcomb: Church set to sanctify legacy of domination (1/19)