The First Foreign Pilgrimage of John Paul II — Mexico 1979

The Pope’s decision to make his first trip abroad was officially announced on 22 December and caused considerable concern in the Roman Curia. John Paul II was the first Pope to visit Mexican land, confronting the many problems of the Church and society in the area.
The main destination of the papal visit was Mexico which had no diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Therefore, the visit was unofficial, and the Pope, like any traveller, had to apply for a visa.
The restrictions on religious freedom in Mexico date back to the early 1920s, when the government authorities began to persecute Catholics, which led to armed struggles in defence of religious freedom (cristeros uprising). The bloody persecutions ceased, and a modus vivendi between Church and State was developed, but the State remained officially anticlerical. Governance for many decades was taken over by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (originally: National Revolutionary Party), which lost its monopoly of power no sooner than in 2000.

At the same time, the Catholic faith was alive among the population, with 90% of Mexican followers. However, the Church in Latin America struggled with a post-Second Vatican Council crisis, including a misunderstanding of the Church’s mission. From the late 1960s, so-called liberation theology became increasingly popular in Latin America. Some of its Marxist-inspired currents wanted to fight militarily for social justice. The symbol of this idea became Christ with a rifle on his shoulder. The Pope was faced with confronting an understanding of “liberation” that was incompatible with the Gospel.
Therefore, John Paul II’s first trip destination was a country with an overly complex internal situation on invitation of the bishops to a meeting of CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Council) and later also privately invited by the country’s President, José López Portillo.

25-26 January 1979, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic was the first country John Paul II visited during his first apostolic journey abroad, which the Pope called a pilgrimage of faith. The Dominican Republic is one of the most Catholic countries in Latin America (Catholics make up about 95% of the total population there). The most important event of the papal journey was the concelebrated Mass in Independence Square. In his homily, the Holy Father recalled the history of the evangelisation of American land and the names of its first missionaries, i.e., Antonio Montesinos, Pedro de Cordoba, Bartolome de las Casas, who fought for the rights of the natives. He also emphasised the link between preaching the Gospel and man’s place in the work of creation, i.e., the preaching of the Gospel cannot be separated from human advancement.

26-31 January 1979, MEXICO
On the first day at the Cathedral in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, John Paul II mentioned that Poland is often called “Polonia Semper Fidelis.” “I want to be able to say: Mexico Semper Fidelis! Mexico always faithful,” he stressed, referring to the country’s religious tradition.
The arrival of John Paul II triggered an outburst of enthusiasm among the inhabitants, who took to the streets in crowds, often wearing colourful local costumes and accompanying the Pope even on his routes. The Pope himself said he was “deeply touched” by such a warm welcome from the Mexican people.
The Pope’s speech at the opening of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate (28 January) was a great challenge for him. Addressing the participants of the Conference, the Holy Father reminded them that their primary duty is to be teachers of truth: Not a human, rational truth, but one that comes from God and that contains the principle of authentic human liberation: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (Jn 8:32). “This idea of Christ as a political figure, a revolutionary, as the subversive man does not tally with the Church’s catechesis,” the Pope said, explaining what true Christian liberation is and correcting the errors of liberation theology.
During his stay in Mexico, John Paul II met with indigenous people in Oaxaca and Cuilapan. Speaking warmly to the poor Indian people — his “dearest brothers” — he assured them that “the Pope wants to be your voice, the voice of those who cannot speak or are silenced.”
The visit to the shrine of Guadalupe, where the venerated image of Our Lady, who appeared to the Indian Juan Diego in the 16th century, is located, and the visit to the Marian shrine of Zapopan were not to be missed. In these places, the Pope entrusted the future of evangelisation in Latin America and his papal ministry to the Mother of the Church.
Through his example and words, John Paul II restored and confirmed the importance of the strong popular piety in Mexico.
31 January to 1 February 1979, THE BAHAMAS
On his way back to Rome, the Pope stopped in Nassau (capital of the Bahamas) for a brief technical stop before departing for Rome. Despite the highly late hour, he met with the Bahamian people. The Bahamas, once a British colony, became independent in 1973. The largest religious group is Baptist (32%). Catholics make up 19% of the population there. In his address, the Pope referred to the country’s recently gained independence. He expressed the hope that as a sovereign nation in the family of nations, it (the Commonwealth of The Bahamas — author’s note) would have a particular stake in the life of the world community. Farewelled by crowds of believers gathered at the airport, John Paul II left for Rome at 1.30 a.m. local time, thus ending his first apostolic journey outside Italy.

The Pope’s first pilgrimage helped to gradually sort out the havoc in the Church in Latin America and straighten out the errors of liberation theology. The Mexican people gave John Paul II a very warm welcome. To this day, many people in this country have a great devotion to the Pope from Poland. In total, John Paul II visited the country five times during his pontificate. Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mexico resumed in 1992.

Spanish in three months
John Paul II’s command of Spanish at the time of the conclave was passive, i.e., he had studied it while preparing his doctoral thesis in Rome on the works of the Spanish St John of the Cross. However, he had no practice in speaking. Three months before travelling overseas, he decided to improve his language skills to give speeches and homilies in the language of the people he was visiting. However, how do you do that amid your responsibilities?
The Pope asked a Spanish priest living in Rome, Joaquín Alonso, for help. “For nearly three months, I had breakfast or lunch with the Pope almost every day. I spoke to him in Spanish,” recalled Fr Alonso. John Paul II read aloud at the table speeches written in Spanish, while Fr Alonso corrected his accent and pronunciation.
Learning proved effective, as the Pope was able to communicate in Spanish during his first foreign pilgrimage.

Meeting with the Polish community
During his visit to Mexico, John Paul II also met with the Polish community there. He spoke about the closeness and spiritual bond between Mexicans and Poles if only through the similarity of fates, suffering for the faith, or devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Los espejos hacia el cielo
During his 1979 pilgrimage, Mexicans agreed that when John Paul II flew out, they would take mirrors with them and point them towards the sky, reflecting the sunlight and greeting the Pope in this way. This gesture of “mirrors towards heaven” (los espejos hacia el cielo) was also repeated during John Paul II’s subsequent visits to their country.
The Mexican believers also repeated the gesture at noon on 27 April 2014, the day of the canonisation of St John Paul II at the Vatican.

Two days in Castel Gandolfo are not enough
References: “Leksykon pielgrzymek Jana Pawła II,” (ed.) Antoni Jackowski, Izabela Sołjan, WAM Publishing House, Cracow 2005.