Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) - "Over 500 years the Church in all its communities has grown and expanded, the good news of Jesus has been welcomed by numerous peoples and has made us grow in dignity, aware of that divine life that He transmits to us and that does not end with death", write the Bishops of Guatemala in their message released on the occasion of the celebration of the National Eucharistic Congress for the 500 years of the evangelization of the country.
Held in Quetzaltenango, 206 km north-west of Guatemala City, where the first evangelization center was founded, the meeting had as its theme the passage by the evangelist John "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:48).
"The Eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ and his gospel have illuminated our lives, in the midst of the development of the history of the Church in Guatemala, which has known moments of growth and splendor, as well as moments of oppression and persecution," the bishops emphasize.
"This occasion gives us the opportunity to be grateful for the arrival of the announcement of Christ dead and risen, the beginning of evangelization in our territory that has given meaning to the lives of thousands of believers."
"By shedding their blood, the martyrs gave us the measure of the value of the faith that saves us," the prelates also stated, remembering the figure of Saint Pedro de San José Betancur, the first saint of Guatemala and Central America, canonized by the then Pope John Paul II on July 30, 2002.
Furthermore, explaining that evangelization began
with the Spanish conquest, which also had a high cost in death and suffering, the country's bishops point out that this celebration also aims to be "an opportunity to continue advancing in the rehabilitation of the wounds and disagreements that occurred and still occur today. From the first evangelizers to the present, we must honestly recognize that the Church is at the same time holy and sinful and that Christ continues to suffer in the pain of our people."
"There is still a long way to go to achieve the peace, justice and reconciliation to which the gospel of Jesus invites us. We know that the Lord is still present in his Church and helps us. As pastors, we thank God for the faith of our people and the dedication of the priests in the Eucharistic celebration and in the life of the Church for centuries. We are committed to continue working so that the life that the Lord gives us grows and flourishes among us," concludes the message, signed by the President of the Episcopal Conference of Guatemala (CEG) and Bishop of Verapaz, Rodolfo Valenzuela Núñez, and the Bishop of Jutiapa, Antonio Calderón Cruz, Secretary General of the CEG. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 16/7/2024)
