Be close to God, fellow bishops, priests, and people, Pope tells Mexico’s bishops
April 28, 2023
Pope Francis received 39 bishops from Mexico on April 27—the first of three groups of Mexican bishops traveling to Rome for their ad limina visits.
The Code of Canon Law provides that “every five years a diocesan bishop is bound to make a report to the Supreme Pontiff on the state of the diocese entrusted to him, according to the form and time determined by the Apostolic See ... Unless the Apostolic See has established otherwise, during the year in which he is bound to submit a report to the Supreme Pontiff, a diocesan bishop is to go to Rome to venerate the tombs of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and to present himself to the Roman Pontiff” (Canons 399-400).
Over the years, a backlog of visits has developed—in part because of Covid—and the 2023 ad limina visits are the first for Mexico’s bishops since 2014.
According to Spanish-language reports from Vatican News and the Mexican Episcopal Conference, the Pope’s “central message” to the bishops was to bear hope and to be close to the people. The Pontiff also spoke of a fourfold closeness: to God, to fellow bishops, to priests, and to the people.
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