On Monday, November 9, 2026, the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) inaugurated its CXXI Plenary Assembly with a Eucharistic celebration at the Insigne and National Basilica of Guadalupe. The Mass, presided over by Monsignor Ramón Castro Castro, Bishop of Cuernavaca and President of the CEM, marked the formal beginning of the work that will extend until November 13 and, simultaneously, the declaration of the Jubilee Year granted by the Holy See on the occasion of the centenary of the beginning of the Cristero Resistance (1926-1929).
The Assembly focuses on “Christian initiation as a path of pastoral renewal.” The bishops will analyze the transmission of the faith to new generations, the shift from formation centered solely on sacramental preparation toward permanent processes of accompaniment and commitment, the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, the synodal process, and activities related to the Cristero Jubilee Year. After the Eucharist, the work continued at Casa Lago, with the intervention of the Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico, Joseph Spiteri.
The announcement of the Jubilee Year had been anticipated by Castro Castro at the end of his homily during the Sunday Mass on November 8 at the Cathedral of Cuernavaca. The President of the CEM confirmed that the celebration at the Basilica would mark the beginning of both the Assembly and the Jubilee declaration.
In his homily on November 9, he emphasized that the memory of those events is not recalled “to reopen wounds, fuel resentments, or point out enemies,” but because “Christian memory must help us understand history, recognize suffering, and work together for reconciliation.”
The CEM adopted the motto “Their faith, our memory and their witness, our mission.” In its press release (261109), the Conference expressed joy at the beginning of the Assembly and the announcement of the Jubilee Year, made at the feet of Saint Mary of Guadalupe. It recalled the witness of those who “remained faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church, even to the point of giving their own lives” and reaffirmed the people’s right to celebrate, transmit, and live the faith both at home and in public life, asking the authorities to guarantee the full exercise of religious freedom as a human right.
The Jubilee Year, granted by Pope Leo XIV through the Apostolic Penitentiary, will begin on November 22, 2026, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, and will conclude on November 21, 2027. During this period, the faithful who are truly repentant and moved by charity may obtain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), also applicable as suffrage for the souls in purgatory. The bishops will read the decree in their particular Churches on November 22 and designate the Jubilee churches in each diocese.
Historically, the Cristero resistance arose after the enactment of the Calles Law on July 31, 1926, which suspended public worship, closed churches, and forced sacramental life into secrecy. The conflict, which left nearly 200,000 dead, mobilized peasants, workers, professionals, priests, religious, and laity in defense of religious freedom. Among the recognized martyrs are Blessed Anacleto González Flores (“I die, but God does not die”), Saint Toribio Romo, Saint Luis Batis, Saint Mateo Correa, Saint José María Robles, Saint Miguel de la Mora, Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, and Saint José Sánchez del Río. The CEM insists that the centenary is not a nostalgic commemoration or an exaltation of violence, but a time of grace to draw lessons of fidelity, freedom of conscience, and reconciliation.
In the current context of Mexico, marked by violence, impunity, threats against priests, the murder of journalists, and disappearances, the bishops link Cristero memory with the call to peace. Castro Castro invoked Pope Leo XIV’s invitation to build “an unarmed and disarming peace” and expressed words of closeness to those living under threat for proclaiming the Gospel, to searching families, and to those suffering extortion or fear: “You are not alone.” He also pleaded with those who cause violence to “stop harming your brothers and sisters” and return to the heart of God.
The Cristero Jubilee Year partially coincides with the Guadalupan Jubilee Year, which began on October 12, 2026, marking the 50th anniversary of the new Basilica and the transfer of the original image. Both periods of grace, granted by Leo XIV, strengthen the Marian and martyrial dimension of the Church in Mexico. The President of the CEM, for his part, accepted the invitation of the Episcopal Conference of Peru to accompany Pope Leo XIV during his pastoral visit to the country from November 11 to 16, which will require him to be partially absent from the Assembly’s work.
The November Assembly follows the one held in April 2026, focused on vocational culture. Now the pastoral emphasis on Christian initiation is articulated with the memory of the martyrs and the challenge of transmitting the faith in a context of violence and secularization. The bishops have invited the faithful to accompany these days with prayer, so that the collegial discernment may translate into concrete guidelines for the dioceses.
The decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, dated November 6, 2026, in Rome, grants the plenary indulgence to those who make a pilgrimage to any shrine in Mexico dedicated to the Mexican martyrs or any Jubilee church designated by the local ordinaries, participate in the Jubilee rites, or devote themselves to prayer and supplications for peace, harmony, and vocations, concluding with the Our Father, the Creed, and the invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace and Mother of the Mexican martyr saints. It was read by the Secretary General of the CEM, Auxiliary Bishop of Mexico, Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal, according to the following text:
DECREE
The Apostolic Penitentiary, by virtue of the faculties specially granted to it by the Holy Father Leo XIV, Pope by Divine Providence, servant of our faith and our joy, having considered the petitions recently presented by His Excellency Monseñor Ramón Castro Castro, Bishop of Cuernavaca and President of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, on the occasion of the centenary of the ecclesial movement commonly known as the Cristero Resistance, drawing from the immense mercy of God and the heavenly treasures of the Church, graciously grants a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions of sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, to all the Christian faithful who are truly repentant and moved by charity. They may obtain this indulgence from November 22, 2026, until November 21, 2027, and may also apply it as suffrage for the souls of the faithful departed in purgatory, if they visit in pilgrimage any shrine in Mexico dedicated to the Mexican martyrs or any Jubilee church already designated by each of the local ordinaries in Mexico. There they are to participate devoutly in the Jubilee rites or at least for a suitable time devote themselves to pious reflections, prayer, or other works of Christian piety and raise to God pious supplications against the aberrations of our time for peace and harmony among peoples and to obtain priestly and religious vocations. Concluding with the Our Father, the Creed, and the invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, Mother of Mercy, and of the Mexican martyr saints.
Given in Rome at the seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the 6th day of the month of November in the year of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
After the celebration, the bishops of Mexico moved to the headquarters of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, where the work of the 121st Assembly will formally open with the attendance of the Apostolic Nuncio, Joseph Spiteri.