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 / Modified feb 16, 2016 11:25 a.m.

Ciudad Juárez Residents Seek Consolation from Pope's Visit

City has deep wounds from Mexican Revolution, modern brutal drug war.

Pope in Juarez Fronteras Spot 2 The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is located in the historic center of downtown Ciudad Juárez.
Mónica Ortiz Uribe

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe, Fronteras Desk

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Pope Francis will be in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Wednesday, a city recovering from a brutal drug war that left more than 10,000 dead.

The Pope will start his day at the state prison in Ciudad Juárez. In fewer than 10 years, it's been the site of two deadly riots, sparked by rival gangs that serve as foot soldiers to Mexico's most powerful drug cartels.

State government reforms have started turning things around. Since January, inmates have been busy reconstructing a chapel where the pope will address 700 prisoners and their families.

Joel Torres has been locked up for 15 years, convicted of a murder he committed while serving in the Mexican military.

"Antes… para mí era difícil creer en Dios yo creía más en un rifle o en una pistola."

In my past it was easier to believe in a rifle than it was to believe in God, he said.

Now Torres has reconnected with his faith and is preparing to recover his freedom in about a year. New programs give prisoners here the opportunity to finish school, play sports or get job training.

"También que dentro del penal hay gente que también tiene capacidad para trabajar y desenvolverse."

People on the outside should know that we are capable of reintegrating ourselves into society, he said. Torres feels the pope's visit gives them a sense of validation.

"A veces nos sentimos en este lugar y muchas veces invade la tristeza pero Dios siempre está presente y ahora que este personaje viene el sumo pontífice Pues yo creo que sale sobrando la alegría."

You can be overcome with sadness in this place, he said, but now that the Pope is coming, we are all overjoyed.

Across town a grieving mother recites a prayer in the house where her son was murdered six years ago. We're in the neighborhood of Villas de Salvarcar, site of a now infamous massacre where gunmen killed 16 people at a teenager's birthday party. It marked the beginning of one of the most violent years in Juárez history.

"Sigue el dolor sigue el coraje sigue la injusticia sigue la indignación."

Our pain continues, our anger continues, and the injustice continues, said Blanca Estela Camargo. She is among the countless victims of violence across Mexico that Pope Francis will pay tribute to at mass near the border fence. It is expected to draw 200,000 people.

"...Lo que cambia con la venida del papa es que tenemos una esperanza que una gran bendición…nos pueda traer un poco de consolación."

We hope the pope's blessing will bring us some consolation, Camargo said. She also hopes his visit will highlight what she believes to be the root of city's problems.

"Todo lo origina la pobreza todo lo origina el hambre…con esta economía tan lastimada no podemos hacer que la gente de las áreas mas pobres de Juárez no caigan en manos del dinero fácil."

It all starts with poverty and hunger, she said. Without opportunities people will continue to turn to crime and easy money.

At a migrant shelter run by the Juárez dioceses, Roberto Jimenez builds a new message board for the community room. He left his native Nicaragua 14 years ago for the U.S., but never made it.

"Entonces le digo, nos robo, Padre, nos quito todo."

I stayed at this very shelter and got robbed, he said. Unable to pay a smuggler to take him the last 10 miles of his trip, Jimenez started doing carpentry work for the diocese. That's when he was struck by cupid's arrow.

"Yo creo que fue amor a primera vista."

It was love at first sight, says Rita Reynaldo, Jimenez's wife. They met at a church where he was working. When she agreed to be his girlfriend, he knew his journey had ended. The two have found happiness in Juárez. She is a school teacher and he continues to work as a carpenter.

"Yo me siento muy orgullosa de que mi esposo sea migrante."

I am very proud that my husband is an immigrant, Reynaldo said.

Immigration is the overarching theme of Pope Francis' visit to Mexico. It will conclude in Juárez, long recognized as a city of migrants. Francis is expected to walk to the invisible line that separates Mexico from the U.S. There he will kneel at the dusty bank of the Rio Grande and pray.

Fronteras Desk is a collaborative of public media entities in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas including Arizona Public Media.

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