During the Angelus, Pope Francis acknowledged a Mexican Jesuit in Chiapas who had been murdered on 20 October.
“A careful servant of the Gospel and of God’s faithful people. May his sacrifice, like that of other priests killed for fidelity to the ministry, be a seed of peace and Christian life,” the pope said.
The murder of this priest generated commotion in Mexico, where his work among indigenous communities generated suspicion in the criminal world.
Pope Francis visited Chiapas in 2016, during his trip to Mexico. He had an intense day where one of his main encounters was a mass celebrated with thousands of indigenous people.
“In the heart of man and in the memory of many of our peoples is inscribed the longing for a land, for a time where devaluation is overcome by fraternity, injustice is overcome by solidarity and violence is silenced by peace,” he said.
According to the Multimedial Catholic Centre, between 2019 and 2024 up to 11 Catholic ministers of worship have been murdered at the hands of organised crime.