This Monday, November 9, 2026, the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) began its CXXI Plenary Assembly, which will run until November 13. The activities will start with a midday Eucharistic celebration at the Insigne and National Basilica of Guadalupe, presided over by Ramón Castro Castro, Bishop of Cuernavaca and President of the CEM. During this Mass, the formal opening of the Jubilee Year granted by the Holy See on the occasion of the centenary of the Cristero Resistance (or Cristero struggle) will be announced, recognizing the historical significance of that event which took place one hundred years ago.
The announcement had been anticipated by Bishop Castro himself at the end of the homily during the Sunday Mass he presided over at the Cuernavaca Cathedral. The President of the CEM confirmed that the country’s bishops would meet starting this Monday and that the Eucharist at the Basilica would mark the beginning of both the Assembly and the declaration of the Jubilee Year for the centenary of the Cristero War. The prelate reiterated hours before the Mass that the Permanent Council had been meeting precisely in preparation for that Eucharistic celebration, during which “all the Bishops of the Country will inaugurate the CXXI General Assembly and the declaration of the Jubilee Year on the occasion of the centenary of the Cristero struggle.”
Throughout the year, the bishops of Mexico meet twice in Plenary Assembly, in accordance with the statutes of the Conference. The last one took place from April 13 to 17, 2026 (CXX Assembly). On that occasion, the central theme was the strengthening of vocational culture, with the aim of moving from an isolated vocational pastoral approach to an integral vision in which every ecclesial action becomes a space for calling, accompaniment, and response to God’s plan. Archbishops such as Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong, head of the Episcopal Commission for Vocations and Ministries, stated that “all pastoral work is vocational at its root” and presented guidelines for sowing, accompanying, educating, forming, and discerning the vocation of all the baptized, not only specific vocations to ordained ministry or consecrated life.
The Assembly now beginning has as its focus “Christian Initiation as a Path of Pastoral Renewal.” The bishops will analyze the transmission of the faith to new generations, the need to move from a formation centered solely on sacramental preparation toward ongoing processes of accompaniment and commitment, as well as topics related to the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, the synodal process, and activities linked to the Jubilee Year of the Cristero Resistance. After the Mass at the Basilica, the work will continue at Casa Lago, where the Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico, Joseph Spiteri, will speak.
The Jubilee for the centenary of the Cristero War is part of the commemoration that the CEM has been preparing. In previous messages, the bishops have emphasized that this centenary “is not merely an anniversary, it is a time of grace.” It is not about reopening wounds or glorifying violence, but about remembering the fidelity of a believing people who kept the faith alive when the bells fell silent, honoring the martyrs who died for Christ, and drawing lessons for the present in favor of religious freedom, reconciliation, and peace. The Holy See has granted this Jubilee Year precisely so that the faithful may obtain the graces and indulgences proper to these special times, thereby recognizing the historical and spiritual value of that struggle from one hundred years ago.
The Plenary Assembly takes place in a pastoral context marked by the challenges of Christian initiation, the vocational culture promoted in April, and the living memory of the Cristero martyrs. The bishops have invited the faithful to accompany these days with prayer, so that the collegial discernment may translate into concrete lines of action for the country’s dioceses.