Pope Benedict XVI set to visit Guanajuato’s historic Plaza de la Paz [2]
On Saturday, March 24th, Pope Benedict XVI will hold meetings at the Conde Rul House, the seat of the State Government of Guanajuato. Following these meetings, the Pope will greet and bless children and other faithful gathered in Guanajuato’s Plaza de la Paz [3], the main administrative centre of Guanajuato and the heart of the city.
The Plaza de la Paz is a popular location for prominent individuals to visit, so the Papal procession should be beautiful, as the buildings and monuments surrounding the plaza are some of the most charming in all of Mexico. For instance, following Mexico’s independence, nobles and businessmen of Guanajuato occupied the buildings surrounding the plaza. To this day, these colonial architecture buildings still retain their elegance, as most have been converted into restaurant cafes and shops.
The monument in the centre of the Plaza de la Paz was constructed to remember the centenary of the end of Mexican war independence and was inaugurated by the president Porfirio Diaz in 1903.
Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate an open-air Mass in the morning on March 25 at Silao's Guanajuato Bicentenario Park, an outdoor venue that it is expected to accommodate about 750,000 people, who will need a ticket to enter, officials said.
Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit three cities in Guanajuato state during his time in Mexico before continuing on to Santiago, Cuba.