Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mexico City (Fides News Agency) – Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, 48, was shot dead and his body was left along a stretch of the Tolago-Tetlapaya highway in the Lolotla district of Hidalgo, central Mexico.
Police had received a report concerning the discovery of a body. When officers arrived at the scene, they found that the man had no vital signs and had sustained several gunshot wounds. The victim was subsequently identified as Román de la Cruz Hernández, parish priest of Santa Cruz and a priest of the Diocese of Huejutla.
Near the site where the body was found, police also discovered a burgundy-coloured Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck bearing Baja California license plates, as well as a cardboard sign containing what appeared to be an intimidating message. Authorities have not yet made its contents public, nor have they indicated a possible motive for the murder.
The priest’s murder has caused deep distress throughout the Mexican Church. In a statement, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM) expressed its solidarity with Bishop José Hiraís Acosta Beltrán of Huejutla, the priests, members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and the entire diocesan community, while calling on the authorities “to conduct a thorough investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding the murder of Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, pastor of Santa Cruz in Huejutla, Hidalgo state”.
The statement was signed by Ramón Castro Castro, Bishop of Cuernavaca and President of the CEM, and Héctor M. Pérez Villarreal, Auxiliary Bishop of Mexico and Secretary General.
Bishop José Hiraís Acosta Beltrán of Huejutla likewise urged the faithful to refrain from speculation, “so that the competent authorities may carry out their investigations and provide information on this tragedy”.
“Given the alarming level of violence in our country,” the prelate said, “we urgently call on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring those responsible for this murder, which took place in our diocese, to justice. We ask that this crime, and all the other crimes that have afflicted our nation, not to go unpunished.”
The parish of Santa Cruz, where Father Román de la Cruz Hernández served, is a community of approximately 1,500 inhabitants in the municipality of Huejutla.
The area lies in a region marked by clashes between criminal groups vying for control of the illicit fuel trade. On 14 August, the Diocese of Huejutla had also raised the alarm after criminals hacked the phones of several priests and, impersonating them, attempted to extort money from parishioners.
Father Román de la Cruz Hernández was born on 28 July 1978 in Mazahuacán, in the municipality of Lolotla, Hidalgo state. He was ordained a priest on 18 December 2006. Since September 2024, he had served as the first diocesan parish priest of the Santa Cruz community in Huejutla de Reyes, in the Huasteca region. He also coordinated the Diocese of Huejutla’s Commission for Prophetic Pastoral Ministry.
(L.M.) (Fides News Agency, 18/9/2026)
