MONTHLY UPDATE FROM DICK

[Place Curser on Pictures for Captions]
		We arrived at our hotel, the Majestic in Mexico City about 4 pm. The hotel was opened in 1937 and had suffered a severe earthquake in 1985 that killed over 10,000 people so it did have its problems. Our sixth floor room however, overlooked the Civic Center plaza, called the zocalo, which means “baseboard.” Originally this would have been the base of a huge monument etc. that was never built. Across the zocalo is the National Palace. This site has been a palace for the ruling class of Mexico since the Aztec empire, and much of the current palace's building materials are from the original one that belonged to Montezuma II and is built on the site of his palace. Above
the central doorway, facing the Zocalo, is the main balcony where just before 11pm on September 15, the president of Mexico gives the Grito de Dolores, in a ceremony to commemorate Mexican Independence. Part of this ceremony includes ringing the bell that hangs above the balcony. This bell is the original one that Father Miguel Hidalgo rang to call for rebellion against Spain. All through September there is much celebration going on, which we also experienced. In the corner between the National Palace and the Cathedral below are archeological digs of an Aztex pyramid. Probably two other pyramids are below.
		To our left we had a beautiful view from our room of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary. The cathedral was built in sections beginning in 1573 and completed in 1813 on the site of an Aztec sacred site, Templo Mayor. Stones from the temple were used to build the cathedral. The cathedral was built around an original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest. The cathedral houses the two largest 18^th century organs in the Americas. It has 16 chapels; all but two are open to the public. The smaller building to the right with the baroque facade is the Tabernacle built in 1749 -1760, and is still in use today.
		Day two we spent on a city tour bus, which took us on a three hour tour of Mexico City. We saw many gorgeous sites. During the tour we spent nearly four hours at the Anthropology Museum of Mexico City. There are 23 rooms of exhibits on nearly 20 acres of land that is totally captivating. I was at least half way through our visit before realizing that exhibits had English text as well as Spanish, but still I was fascinated. As you can see in this picture other world cultures are exhibited to show how they tie in with the Mexico culture. That evening we had mass at the Cathedral celebrated by Father Steve. After mass people crowed at the chancel for father to bless them.
		We spent our second morning in Mexico City at the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe. This beautiful shrine seats three thousand and houses the miraculous tilma of St Juan Diego. - A *tilmàtli* (or tilma) was a type of outer garment worn by Aztec men and other peoples of central Mexico. The garment was to be worn at the front like a long apron, or alternatively draped across the shoulders as a cloak. It was also frequently used as a carry-all. The middle and lower class used a tilmàtli made of a coarse fabric derived from the threads of the maguey agave. It was knotted over the left shoulder. The lower classes knotted the garment behind the neck, where it could serve for carrying. A very famous tilmàtli was that worn by a peasant Indian, Juan Diego, in 1531. As a sign to the bishop that Juan had been visited by the Virgin Mary and instructed that a church should be built at that location, the Virgin arranged flowers in his tilma to be carried to the bishop. When Juan opened it and the flowers fell out, the image you see was on the tilma. This is the actual tilma preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe which attracts millions of pilgrims annually. Father Steve celebrated mass with us in one of the small chapels overlooking the spacious nave and sanctuary of the shrine.

That afternoon we spent visiting the pyramids of Teotihuacan thirty miles north of Mexico City. Here are located some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. It also had large residential complexes, and numerous well-preserved murals. It probably was established around 100 BC and building continued until 250 AD. The city itself may have lasted until about the 8^th century. It was one of the largest cities in the world in this period with about 200,000 inhabitants. It had multi-floor apartment compounds to accommodate its large population. The sites covers about 83 km² or 1.4 times the size of Manhatten. There is a museum to the left of the Pyramid of the Sun that you see in the picture at the left. The middle picture is of a model of the site with the Pyramid of the Sun on the right side and the smaller Pyramid of the Moon on the left. The Avenue of the Dead is from the Pyramid of the Moon and in front of the Pyramid of the Sun. There was human sacrifice practiced, and a large temple sat on top of the Pyramid of the Sun. Of course outside the site are souvenior shops, and not far away in addition to cactus spirits and crafts locally made is a store with a nice ‘eatery’ as well. While we had lunch here we were seronaded by local singers and musicians. Suddenly we were surprized by the wonderful voice of our own Sister Soccoro who was soon joined by others in our group. It is not everyday you are traveling with a ‘singing nun’ who plays the guitar like a dream as well.We left here after 6 pm for a long drive to a Carmelite convent in Amozoc on the outskirts of Puebla where we were warmly greated by the sisters, and of course a very late dinner. We spend the next two nights with the sisters who provided very nice rooms – like in a motel.
		Day 4 On Saturday we honored the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus with mass at the Carmelite Mother House in Puebla celebrated by the Arch Bishop of Puebla and concelebrated by our own Father Steve. Afterwards, the Bishop, and our group were provided a very nice breakfast by the sisters. Following breakfast we spent the day in the City of Puebla
	This is the seminary where Bl Pope John Paul II made his first official visit outside of Rome in 1979. From his opening address at the conference: “The conference now opening was convoked by our revered Paul VI— confirmed by my unforgettable predecessor, John Paul I— and reconfirmed by me as one of the first acts of my pontificate.” The foundation of Puebla begins with a letter from the bishop of Tlaxcala in 1530, Julián Garcés, to the Spanish queen outlining the need for a Spanish settlement between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz. According to legend, the bishop had a dream about where to build the city. In this dream, he saw a valley with woods and meadows crossed by a clear river and dotted with fresh-water springs on fertile land. While he was contemplating this scenery, he saw a group of angels descend from heaven and trace out the city. Convinced he had seen a divine vision, he celebrated Mass, and took some of the brothers out in search of the place. Five leagues from the monastery he declared they had found the place shown in the dream. This legend is the source of Puebla’s original name, Puebla de los Angeles, and its current nickname Angelópolis.
		Puebla's cathedral, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is a treasure of colonial art. Designed by Francisco Becerra, the first stage of construction took place between 1575 and 1618. The initial plans included four corner towers like the cathedral of Valladolid, Spain. The bases of the towers were built and stand as testimony to the lofty plans. The second phase of construction was under the direction of Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza who consecrated the cathedral on April 18, 1649. The main facade, in the sober mannerist style, is made of dark grey quarry stone and was completed in 1664. In 1999 the Cathedral was severely damaged as was much of Puebla by an earthquake. Of note: the Cathedral tower is 200 feet high, tallest in Mexico. And, the Cathedral is pictured on the back of the 500 peso bill.
The Rosary Chapel built in 1690 is to the left of the Main Alter in the beautiful church, Santo Domingo. This is an outstanding example of Mexican Baroque, with dazzling use of gilded stucco and onyx stonework. When I visited here in 1999 in place of the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary dressed in a lovely blue dress. It left a lasting impression on me. The beautiful retable behind the main alter is filled with statues that can be replaced or interchanged depending on the liturgical calendar. Construction of the church itself was started in 1571 and finished in 1611.
We returned to the convent in Amozoc just after 5 o’clock. We were told to wait until we heard the ringing of bells for a very great surprise. Indeed what a surprise. We were entertained by dancers from the local school the nuns teach at. In 1999 I attended the Balie folklorico at the beautiful Cultural Center in Mexico City. Naturally this was of much smaller scale, but equally beautiful and impressive. This was not all. When we went to the dining room we were greeted by authentic (not want to be) Mariachis. Eight wonderful musicians totally captivated us. They played on, and finally, as it was getting late, the sister started bringing us our dinner while the Mariachis continued to spellbind us. It was more than a surprise the sister provided us, but a most enchanting evening. It was after eleven before we finally went to bed.
		DAY 5 This is the street in front of the Carmelite convent in Amozoc. In the background, barely visible is Popocatepetl –“smoking mountain”. The elevation of this violent volcano is 17,802 ft. It stands nearly 10,000 ft above the surrounding area and so is very prominent. It lies 43 miles southeast of Mexico City and about 25 miles from Puebla. In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated when it made its largest display in 1200 years. There have been fifteen major eruptions since the Spanish arrived in 1519.
In part two we leave Puebla and six of our companions and drive to a quaint mountain village where we saw sights of unbelievable beauty. There we experienced the missionary work of the Carmelite sisters and the very simple life of peasant people.