April 23, 2009- Since Pope Benedict XVI didn’t go to Mexico for the World Meeting of Families last January, he met with the organizers in Rome.


First, he greeted them during the general audience.

Benedict XVI
“I warmly greet the faithful from Spain and those from Latin American countries, especially the pilgrims from Mexico, accompanied by Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera and Ennio Antonelli, who helped  organize the Sixth World Meeting of Families held last January."


A day later he celebrated mass for them in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel inside the Vatican, something never before done for pilgrims. There he defended the family as a place where one learns the virtue of obedience.

Benedict XVI
"Dear friends, our contemporaries need to discover this obedience, which is not theoretical but vital. It’s choosing good conducts based on obedience to the wish of God that make us fully free."


The mass welcomed a couple who was celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary, and a young girl receiving her first communion.

Those who attended the mass told the Pope that their next meeting be in Mexico.

JMB