Monterrey archdiocese to send a mobile chapel into areas hit by drug violence

The Archdiocese of Monterrey, in northern Mexico, will launch a traveling chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in late September that will visit outlying neighborhoods and areas hit by drug-related violence. The project is part of the events marking the 250th anniversary of the archdiocese's founding, said Father Ignacio Pulido Mendiola, the archdiocese's communications director.

The mobile chapel is intended to bring eucharistic adoration, confession and pastoral care to areas with no church nearby. Monterrey, one of Mexico's largest metropolitan areas, has 254 parishes across a territory of about 17,000 square kilometers with more than 5 million residents. Population growth has produced settlements in areas with very limited services, where the Church has almost no presence.

The idea came from a lay couple who preferred to remain anonymous, prompted by their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and their wish to bring the Eucharist to remote places. The archbishop of Monterrey, Rogelio Cabrera López, entrusted the project to Father Adrián Villagrán, pastor of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who oversaw the conversion of the vehicle. The van has been fitted with an altar, two kneelers and seating so that a priest can hear confessions and provide for eucharistic adoration.

Pulido Mendiola said the chapel will not be limited to outlying neighborhoods. It will also be set up in busy places such as parks and shopping centers, where it will promote missionary activities and evangelization. The project aims to respond to the spiritual needs of communities living with the insecurity caused by drug-related crime, which restricts residents' movement.

The archdiocese currently runs 30 parish missions to keep up with population growth, and 19 of them have already become parishes. The steady arrival of new residents means pastoral care has to keep expanding. The mobile chapel is also meant to reach older people who have difficulty traveling to a church.

After the archbishop blessed the vehicle, requests have come in from many communities asking for a visit from the chapel. Pulido said many of those requests come from people in remote areas, where the lack of a nearby church or local conditions make it very hard to receive the sacraments.