Lisa A.

Pope Francis’ Visit to Juarez, Mexico

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Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a good Ash Wednesday a.k.a. the first day of Lent. Did you celebrate Fat Tuesday yesterday? It’s been years since I’ve gone out for Mardi Gras. El Paso usually hosts a Mardi Gras street festival every year. Do you plan on giving something up for Lent?

The countdown begins for the Pope’s arrival in Ciudad, Juarez. There isn’t a day that goes by where you don’t hear about his arrival on the radio, television or online. A couple of my co-workers are traveling to Juarez to see him. By this time next week, Pope Francis will visit Juarez for a few hours. His tour in Mexico starts Friday in Mexico City. It will conclude in Juarez. According to the El Paso Times, at least 450,000 people are expected to welcome him. Several from all over the country are expected to travel to El Paso or Juarez. The mass will be televised locally, as well as at the Sun Bowl. Various parks throughout El Paso will be used for media coverage.

Before mass, Pope Francis will visit Cereso Prison and Colegio Bachilleres. He will hold mass at El Punto, a large field near the Benito Juarez Stadium. El Punto holds about 220,000 people. In order to accommodate the Pontiff, a lot of construction and renovations took place in Juarez.

I asked for press credentials to cover his arrival at UTEP (The University of Texas-El Paso) or a nearby park. I’m still not sure if I’m going to receive them. I won’t be traveling to Juarez. It would be great if I get the opportunity to cover the event with various media outlets! If I receive the credentials, I’ll include lots of photos and a post next Wednesday. If I don’t, I’ll still have a post for you. Luckily, I’ll be off from my day job. My son will also be out of school. I work in downtown El Paso so it will be very hard to commute from the other side of town. I was recently told it would even be hard to find parking. Several of El Paso’s highways and streets will shut down for 24 hours. The El Paso County Courthouse, City Hall and most schools will be closed.

Photo from Wikipedia

Published by Lisa A.

Hello everyone! My name is Lisa Amaya. I'm a 30 some year old mom to one son. My blog is about my life, entertainment, current events, people and events in my hometown, El Paso, Texas, etc. My blog will also feature pieces about Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and surrounding areas in New Mexico. I also hope to include more travel blog posts. Guest bloggers will also contribute from time to time! I've been a writer since I was 6 years old. I graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in journalism. I've written for various newspapers and magazines. I plan on focusing more of my time on blogging and freelance writing. I took a five-year break from writing but I'm back at it! Thank you for stopping by and welcome!

28 comments

  6. I won’t be at the Sun Bowl to watch, but will they be locally televising any of it? Yes I grew up here 🙂 but have been in Dallas since college. I am back here often since my parents and whole family still lives here. No place like EP!! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  16. I have been spending time with my family in El Paso the last weeks and am looking forward to his visit! That is really neat that your friends will be going to hear him speak! I hope you get to cover it. I look forward to your post about it either way!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Oh wow! Chocolate is a hard one to give up! I think I gave up soda. My parents were pretty lenient on us going to church/practicing. We visited different places of worship. Some of my family are Jehovahs Witnesses so we went a few times to their congregation. We mostly went to a Catholic church though. I got to read some of the Bible. He’s respected by many.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Growing up in Catholic school, I gave up lots of stuff for Lent. Mostly chocolate, which I could then binge on at Easter. The hardest was potato chips…a salt addiction.
    I’ve been away from the Church for many years now, but there is something so inspiring about this particular Pope. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  27. I was raised Catholic too. I don’t practice it much anymore. I even went to a private Catholic school with mean nuns. Lol. A lot of people seem to like and respect him. Maybe I’ll start going to church again.

    Liked by 2 people

  28. I like this Pope and his progressive views. He’s got most hard line Catholics shaking their heads with his stances. To me, that’s a good thing. I was raised catholic but no longer participate. But in my opinion, he’s good for that denomination.

    Liked by 2 people

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