Pope Francis has blessed the Maya Train. Well, a replica of it, at least.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama briefly met with the Pope in Vatican City on Wednesday, and showed him a replica of the train that will run on the new railroad set to be inaugurated later this week.
Con profunda emoción, en representación del @GobiernoMX compartà con el Papa Francisco @Pontifex, un mensaje de cariño y fraternidad de parte del las y los mexicanos, una carta de nuestro presidente, @lopezobrador_ y los saludos de las y los quintanarroenses.
Le entregué la… pic.twitter.com/gTWqpEtXhU
— Mara Lezama (@MaraLezama) December 13, 2023
In a video of the encounter, Pope Francis is seen making the sign of the cross above the model train.
“This is the train of social justice,” Lezama tells the Argentine Pontiff as she hands the replica to him.
The Morena party governor gave the Pope a brand new replica of the Maya Train as well as a tablecloth hand-embroidered by Maya women from Tulum and a letter from President López Obrador and his wife Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller.
“With profound emotion, in representation of the Mexican government, I shared a message of affection and fraternity on behalf of Mexicans with Pope Francis,” Lezama wrote on social media.
“… His Holiness sent blessings and greetings to the good people of Mexico!” added the governor, who held up her phone to record the Pope as he directed a message to her compatriots.
The Maya Train will run through Lezama’s home state of Quintana Roo as well as Yucatán, Chiapas, Campeche and Tabasco.
The first trip on which ordinary paying passengers will be on board will depart Campeche for Cancún on Saturday. Other sections of the 1,554-kilometer-long railroad will open on later dates.
Pope Francis visited Mexico in 2016 during the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto. In 2021, he issued an apology through Monterrey Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera for “personal and social sins … that didn’t contribute to evangelization” during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico.
With reports from El Financiero and QuadratÃn
