On Sunday, following his inaugural Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Mexico’s Interior Minister, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Mexico on behalf of President Claudia Sheinbaum.  

The Mass saw the attendance of heads of state from around the world, as well as official delegations from numerous countries.

“From St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV sent greetings to President Claudia Sheinbaum and the people of Mexico,” Rodríguez wrote on her official X account, along with a video that shows her greeting the pope and gifting him an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Sheinbaum had announced her intention to invite the pope to Mexico ahead of Rodríguez’s trip to the Vatican.

“The Interior Minister will go [to the Vatican], where we will deliver a letter to the Vatican. If she can see him [the pope] in person, that’s perfect. If not, a letter will still be delivered inviting him to come to Mexico on a date he deems appropriate,” Sheinbaum said on May 12. 

Speaking from the Vatican, Rodríguez highlighted the similarities in attitudes “towards the poor” of the new pope and Mexico’s current administration. She recognized Pope Leo XIV’s social work, his commitment to supporting migrants and his closeness to the Indigenous peoples of Latin America.

Rodríguez also celebrated the bond between Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis. She predicted “there will be continuity in the message of unity in favor of the marginalized, migrants and those who most need support in the world,” Rodríguez said. “Leo XIV will also be a pope who will become a friend of the people of Mexico.”

Cardinal Robert Prevost, from the United States, was elected pope under the name of Leo XIV on May 8. Two Mexican cardinals participated in the conclave that elected the new Pope: the Archbishop of Guadalajara, Francisco Robles, and the Archbishop Primate of Mexico, Carlos Aguiar.

Mexico has the second-largest Catholic community in the world, with roughly 111 million Catholics. According to a recent survey by the newspaper El Financiero, 69% of Catholics in Mexico have a positive opinion of Pope Leo XIV.

With reports from La Jornada and EFE