HOUSTON – In just over 24 hours Pope Francis will make his first visit as pope to Mexico, a country with a long and deep connection to the Catholic faith.
Channel 2's Keith Garvin, who will be traveling to Mexico City to cover the first leg of the pope's visit, sat down with Cardinal Daniel Dinardo, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, ahead of the pontiff's visit.
"We are all members of the body of Christ as Catholics," says Dinardo. "Wherever the pope is we get a sense of the unity of faith."
Dinardo says the visit is part of the pope's overall mission to reach out to those who are often relegated to the fringes of society. It's not happenstance. It's practically policy.
"His real emphasis in the early years of his papacy is to visit developing countries," says Dinarrdo. "Poor countries. Countries that may seem to be at the edges or on the margins."
Francis will visit several cities on his Mexico visit, including the border town Ciudad Jaurez next to El Paso. Dinardo will travel there and isn't scheduled to visit with the pontiff, but if he gets the chance he will deliver a message.
"I want to tell him that Texas welcomes him back to America," says Dinardo. "And that we hope his visit is powerful and good for him there as it is for us to receive him."
Security will be an issue in Juarez, which is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world. For an idea of just how tight security will be, Dinardo says he and all of the other cardinals traveling to Juarez have to arrive a day before the pope's visit and they are required to remain in Jaurez until the day after the pope leaves to head back to Vatican City.
In addition to Garvin's coverage in Mexico City, Channel 2 reporter Anousha Rasta will cover the pope's visit to Ciudad Juarez.
