“I had the privilege of being in the group of bishops chosen, and headed by Cardinal Bergoglio, to draft the Aparecida document in 2007.” The Primate Cardinal of Mexico, Carlos Aguiar, smiles when recalling Francis. A smile, emotional and grateful, which is completed when speaking of Leo XIV and his decisive bet “for a synodal and outgoing Church,” as was evident after the consistory, and in some of the future proposals, such as ‘expanding’ the cardinals’ meetings, and making them extendable to the Episcopal Conferences of the world.
“The Pope wants it to be possible to hold a continental assembly and that the life of the Church can be expressed in every place in the world,” explains Aguiar, who also trusts that the pontiff may be able to travel to Mexico before the year ends. “I hope we can receive him in Mexico soon”, he estimates, in an exclusive interview with RD.
**Question. We are with Carlos Aguiar, the Primate Cardinal of Mexico, Cardinal Carlos, good morning, how are you?
Answer. We have been very happy here in Rome, greeting each other and some of the cardinals whom we had already met for the election of Pope Leo. There is now beginning to be a little more knowledge among all of us, and to forge a more friendly, closer relationship.
Q. You have just concluded a consistory that will become regular, at least once a year, so that the cardinals can help the Pope in the governance of the Church. How was it?
R. With a very suitable style, with an initial moment where we were conversing. Some asked for the floor and already the Holy Father, listened, responded, took notes… We were presented with four points of debate and we voted on them. It seemed excellent to me that the first topic addressed, in small groups of eight cardinals, was that of synodality. We must continue walking synodally, promoting it in the Church. The second topic was the mission: that is to say, not only must we work with those who are already with us, who are active and live their faith and also their apostolate, but we must go to others.
P. These are two themes that mark a clear continuity with the pontificate of Francis…
R. Exactly, a synodal and outgoing Church. And, at the end, the Pope told us that this consistory had been very short, so we were expecting to see each other again in June, on the 27th and 28th, each year, as we had requested after being elected. We will finally be rid of this strong winter we have had here, and there will be a bit more warmth in June (laughter).
P. Subsequently, you and Monsignor Acero, the auxiliary bishop of Mexico, had a private meeting with the Pope…
R. Yes, and we were able to explain the path of the synodal process that we are carrying out in the Archdiocese of Mexico, and he thought it was excellent. I explained to him that we are trying to relate the pastoral processes with the diocesan structures. The first, the parish, then the deanery, the pastoral zone, the diocese, the ecclesiastical province, and the episcopal conference. At these levels of structure we must be walking, but from the structure of the base. Otherwise, we fall into the same clericalism of always, and here the idea is to listen to each other: lay faithful, ministers, pastoral agents, priests, and bishops.
P. Does the council also generate synodality? Dioceses bring their experiences to Rome for the curia to ‘learn’ from them…
R. I explained it that way in my circle, and then to the Holy Father, and he told me to convey what we are doing, and we do so with great pleasure. We have chosen laypeople to participate not only in pastoral activity, but in pastoral decision-making, the ‘deanery links,’ who, with the support of the parish priests, are the architects of meetings of all the parish councils. That gives us hope, allows us to continue the path to reach many other people who are distant, alienated, or even angry with the Church.
There are always people who get upset about something, and we need to bring the Good News to them. Also to hospitals, schools, academies, universities… We need to ensure that everyone is part of the synodal process.
**Q: To be clear: have synodality and the Church in outreach come to stay in the Church?**
**A:** I believe so. That is my way of understanding it, because it is the way to build fraternity, to help each other and take each other’s hand.
**Q: This year 2025 has been very relevant in the life of the Church, with the Jubilee Year, the death of Francis, the election of Leo XIV. How do you remember those moments?**
R. (Gets emotional). I had the privilege of being in the group of bishops chosen, and headed by Cardinal Bergoglio, to draft the Aparecida document in 2007. That event gave us the Pope and myself a great relationship of friendship. We all worked every day, while the others strolled. And we did it with him, with Cardinal Óscar Andrés (Rodríguez Maradiaga) and the Archbishop of Medellín. We had a very strong relationship of friendship. That experience of Aparecida was vital so that when they elected him Pope we had total confidence in him.
P. When Prevost is elected, what was your feeling? Has this been confirmed in these months of pontificate?
R. I had a great joy. Already in the general congregations leading up to the conclave, we were talking about who each of us thought would vote for. Someone asked me: Will this conclave last long? No, because there was already a consensus. His election was very quick, in four ballots, and because only a few votes were missing to reach the majority (in the third).
P. What are the pillars of the Church that Pope Leo XIV wants?
R. I believe Leo XIV wants to continue with the Synodal Path, he said it explicitly. He wants to take us very much into account to know the circumstances of each area of the planet. In fact, he invited us to be attentive to the fact that the Episcopal Conferences of each continent meet, as we do in CELAM or in Europe. The Pope desires that there be a consistory of cardinals each year, but also that a continental assembly can be given and that thus the life of the Church in each place of the world is expressed.
P. In his private meeting with the Pope, he was invited to visit Mexico…
R. I told him that right after he was elected, the very next day. I told him: “Holy Father, our mother awaits you, whenever you want, whenever you can, whenever you desire. So there’s the open door of our home.” With a gesture I told him thank you very much, thank you very much… he was pleased. Now, in the audience, I reiterated it to him.
P. Are we expecting him this year?
R. That chapter isn’t closed. He knows, he has a lot of hope of being able to do it soon, but he already has some prior trips, like the one that will take him to Spain, and another one somewhere. I hope we can receive him in Mexico soon.
P. In Mexico, specifically in Guadalupe, an important event is already beginning to be organized. In 2031, 500 years will be completed of the Apparition of the Virgin to Juan Diego. How is the Church in Mexico preparing for this event?
R. We had the vision of the novena, and a proposal was made, which was also worked on in the episcopal conference, also to CELAM, and there we go, walking. Towards the horizon of 2031.
P. What is Guadalupe for Carlos Aguiar?
R. Ah, she is the Mother who listens to me, who consoles me and who assists me, because I know that she is behind her Church.
Jesus Bastante
**Digital Religion**
English version translated with AI