Pope Leo XIV highlights role of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Juan de Palafox in Mexico Pope Leo XIV praised the missionary work of the Church in Mexico throughout history, inspired by the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the example of Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. In a message addressed to the participants of the 17th National Missionary Congress of Mexico, being held in Puebla Nov. 7\u20139, the Holy Father noted that the greatest privilege and duty of missionaries is \u201cto bring Christ to the heart of every person.\u201d Taking a closer look at missionary work, the pope offered the parable of the yeast from the Gospel of Matthew: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened\u201d (Mt 13:33). In light of this verse, the pope explained that the \u201cleaven of the Gospel\u201d arrived in Mexico in the hands of a few missionaries: \u201cThese were the hands of the Church, which began to knead the leaven they carried with them \u2014 the deposit of faith \u2014 with the new flour of a continent that did not yet know the name of Christ.\u201d The Holy Father noted that the Gospel \u201cdid not erase what it found but transformed it,\u201d until it \u201ctook root in their hearts and blossomed into works of unique holiness and beauty.\u201d Legacy of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza The pope referred to the message of the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill as \u201ca sign of perfect inculturation\u201d that God bestowed upon the Church, and noted that the message of Guadalupe provided \u201cmissionary momentum\u201d for the first evangelizers, who \u201cfaithfully took up the task of doing what Christ commanded.\u201d He also highlighted the figure of Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, whom he described as a \u201cpastor and missionary who understood his ministry as service and leaven.\u201d The Holy Father recalled his visit to Puebla as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, where, he stated, the figure of Blessed Juan \u201cremained alive in the memory of the people of Puebla; his [spiritual] fatherhood had left such a profound mark that it is still felt today in the simple faith of the faithful.\u201d Palafox served as bishop of Puebla in the mid-1600s. For the pontiff, the example of the bishop challenges pastors today, \u201cfor it teaches that to govern is to serve, that to provide serious formation is to evangelize, and that all authority, when exercised according to the criteria of Christ, becomes a source of communion and hope.\u201d Furthermore, as the pope pointed out, in his life and writings Palafox \u201cshows that the true missionary does not dominate but loves; does not impose but serves; and does not exploit faith for personal gain.\u201d Looking at the present, he lamented that \u201csocial divisions, the challenges of new technologies, and sincere desires for peace continue to be ground together like new flours that risk being fermented with bad yeast.\u201d Therefore, he emphasized that today\u2019s missionaries are called to be \u201cthe hands of the Church that place the leaven of the risen Lord in the dough of history, so that hope may be fermented anew.\u201d \u201cWe must be willing to put our hands into the dough of the world! It is not enough to talk about the flour without getting our hands messed up; we must touch it,\u201d he emphasized. He added: \u201cThis is how the kingdom will grow \u2014 not by force or numbers but by the patience of those who, with faith and love, continue kneading alongside God.\u201d At the end of his message, the pope noted that the Catholic Church in Mexico \u201cstrives to live this call of Christ fully\u201d and thus thanked the missionaries for their dedication. \u201cMay the Lord Jesus make all your initiatives fruitful and may Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Star of Evangelization, always accompany you with her motherly tenderness, showing you the way that leads to God,\u201d he prayed. This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. 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