AMERICA/MEXICO - Preparing for the World Meeting of Families, to be attended by over 30 Cardinals and 80 Bishops, families from 45 different countries, including indigenous families

Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – The organization committee for the 6th World Meeting of Families, scheduled to take place in Mexico City beginning January 14, has informed that as of now, there are already over 2,000 confirmed attendees from over 45 different countries, over 30 Cardinals and 80 Bishops. Among the Cardinals scheduled to attend are: Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Cracow; Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops; Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris; Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid; and Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa. The delegate of the Holy Father Benedict XVI will be Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State.
Also in attendance will be: Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family and Mexican Cardinals Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Monterrey, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of México City. In addition, Cardinals who have confirmed their attendance include the Cardinals of Toledo, Puerto Rico, Lima, Santiago de Chile, Valencia, Ukraine, Santo Domingo, Barcelona, Boston, Quebec, Guatemala, Bordeaux, Sao Paulo, Rancho-India, Cameroon, and Uganda.
The encounter will also be attended by representatives of the indigenous community. There will be 10 indigenous families that will represent the 54 native communities of Mexico, says Fr. Juan Ortiz Magos, Secretary of the Commission of Indigenous Pastoral Care for the Archdiocese of Mexico City. In order to prepare for the encounter, there has been a national pilgrimage tour of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego for one year. The pilgrimage concluded on December 9 this year, with the feast of San Juan Diego. Fr. Ortiz Magos says that these two images have visited the indigenous peoples in order to promote “unity, tenderness, and peaceful coexistence among families, as they face the situations of migration, poverty, and marginalization that lead to a breakdown of the family.” He also mentioned that “within our society, there are indigenous peoples who are distanced from society, when they have a great treasure to share: their family love, even in the midst of adversity.” The indigenous commission is scheduled to continue pilgrimages of the images and distributing blessed copies to the towns that have already been visited, so they can in turn distribute them to the most distant areas, with the help of local priests. The intention is to continue spreading the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “as 477 years after the apparitions of the Virgin Mary there continue to be indigenous people who are marginalized and need support from the Mexican society.” He also hopes that the mission will be extended through the entire continent, from the US and Canada, through Central America, and down to the tip of South America. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 18/12/2008)