Mexico: Consecration of a New Church in Puebla

On May 13, Bishop Bernard Fellay, accompanied by 11 priests and 29 seminarians, in front of more than 800 faithful, consecrated the newly built church in Cholula, State of Puebla, Mexico, located two hours by road from Mexico City.

The Our Lady of the Angels mission of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), located in Puebla, has a rich history. In the 1980s, a small group of Catholics in Puebla received priests faithful to the traditional Latin Mass in their private homes.

Since the end of the 1990s, Society priests have continued this apostolate and received from the faithful an orchard where a small chapel had been set up. In 2014, one of the neighbors also offered the SSPX land, which allowed it to start building a new church.

“Father, believe me, there will be so many people that they won't fit in a chapel,” predicted Señor Miguel, a parishoner. On September 29, 2015, St. Michael's Day, the purchase of the land was finalized. 

After consulting several architects, it was decided to build the new church in the style of the other Puebla churches, codified four centuries earlier by Blessed Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza.

The famous engineer Enrique Márquez (†2018) offered us his precious support for the plan calculations and another architect was entrusted with the design of the future church, all under the direction of the experienced Fr. Marc Gensbittel, for whom this is not the first construction.

In January 2017, after preparing the ground, the foundation work on the church began. In August of the same year, the masons poured the floor of the nave, and in November they finished pouring the choir. The dome, a central part of the architecture of the church, symbolizes Heaven. Meanwhile, the nave of the church represents the antechamber to heaven. Adorned with Marian symbols, the dome has a border of lilies arranged in the shape of a crown.

The tenacity of Fr. Marc Gensbittel made it possible to find the necessary funds for the construction. Ora et labora. Every first Saturday of the month, the priests in charge of the work celebrated a Mass for the benefactors of the church in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, imploring her maternal protection for them and their families.

Then on May 13, 2023, after the consecration of the Our Lady of the Angels church, all the participants gathered in a convivial way for a meal, which was followed by the singing of Vespers, a procession in honor of the Virgin of Fatima, and finally a fireworks display according to the customs of the country.

It was an unforgettable day. Many thanks to all those who made this holy day possible.