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Missing Mexican priest leaves a community in fear and uncertainty, says ACN expert
As authorities search for Father Clemente Morales Topete in Mexico’s Sinaloa state, Marcela Szymanski of Aid to the Church in Need tells Press Crux how the disappearance of a priest can disrupt an entire community — and why families continue to hold on to hope.
INTERVIEW | CHURCH IN MEXICO
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
10/28/20266 min read
Photo caption: Missing-person notice for Father Clemente Morales Topete, last seen on October 24, 2026, in Culiacán, Mexico. Credit: Sinaloa State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons.
MEXICO CITY — “It is truly a devastating loss at the heart of a community.” That is how Marcela Szymanski describes the void left when a priest disappears, particularly in communities where families depend on him not only for spiritual guidance, but also for comfort, practical assistance and help navigating everyday hardships.
Yet even amid uncertainty, she says, one hope remains: that he will return.
In an interview with Press Crux, Szymanski, who oversees international advocacy for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), reflected on the broader impact of such disappearances as authorities continued searching for Father Clemente Morales Topete, pastor of Christ the Risen Lord Parish in the La Campiña neighborhood of Culiacán, in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa.
Morales Topete, 67, was last seen Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, at approximately 4 p.m. in the Montebello residential area after attending a medical appointment.
As of Oct. 26, his whereabouts remained unknown, and authorities were continuing their investigation.
When a priest disappears, a community loses more than its pastor
Szymanski said a priest's role can be especially significant in small communities struggling with poverty and limited access to public services.
In such places, a priest may be the person residents turn to when they need medicine, assistance during an emergency or simply someone willing to listen.
To illustrate the breadth of that role, she compared his disappearance to losing several trusted community figures at once: “the mayor, the judge, the person who offered them comfort, the one who could obtain medicine.”
Her remarks underscore how a priest's ministry can extend well beyond religious services to include practical support, conflict mediation and relationships of trust built over many years.
When that person disappears, those relationships can be abruptly disrupted.
Szymanski also warned that attacks against religious leaders can undermine an entire community's sense of safety. In places where such violence has occurred, she said, families may begin to fear for their own lives and those of their children.
That fear can eventually drive people from their homes, leaving behind their livelihoods and the communities they have built.
Her comments reflect her broader assessment of the consequences of violence against religious leaders. In Morales Topete's case, however, investigators have not yet established the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Holding on to the hope of his return
Drawing on ACN's experience with prolonged kidnappings and disappearances of religious figures in Africa and the Middle East, Szymanski emphasized the importance of prayer and enduring hope.
Communities, she said, continue to hold “firmly to the hope that one day he will return.”
She pointed to the case of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, an Italian Jesuit who disappeared July 29, 2013, in Raqqa, Syria.
Szymanski said she knows members of his family living in Belgium who continue to hope for his return.
Vatican News has documented Dall'Oglio's disappearance, as well as commemorations through which the Church has kept his memory alive.
For families of the missing, the uncertainty can last for years. Their loved one's place remains unfilled, prayers continue, and the search for answers never truly ends.
In Culiacán, parishioners at Christ the Risen Lord have responded to their pastor's disappearance with public prayer and calls for action.
On Monday, Oct. 26, members of the congregation gathered outside the Sinaloa state government headquarters, lit candles and prayed for his safe return.
One participant told Meganoticias that Morales Topete had been on his way to celebrate Mass after leaving a medical clinic but never arrived at the church.
That account is among the publicly reported details of his final known activities.
Diocese appeals for his safe return
The Associated Press reported Oct. 26 on the disappearance of Morales Topete in Culiacán.
In an updated version of its report, the news agency said intelligence and security personnel were involved in the search.
AP also quoted Father Saúl Norzagaray, a spokesman for the Diocese of Culiacán, who described the situation as “critical, difficult times” and said the diocese was deeply concerned and praying that its pastor would be found alive.
The Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM) expressed solidarity with Bishop Jesús José Herrera Quiñónez of Culiacán, Morales Topete's relatives and members of his parish.
“We call on the appropriate authorities to fulfill their duty and cooperate in locating Father Clemente as quickly as possible,” the bishops said in a statement translated from Spanish.
The conference also urged media outlets, parishes and members of the public to share the official missing-person notice and provide any information that might assist investigators.
The Diocese of Culiacán said it had activated its institutional response protocols and contacted authorities.
The Sinaloa State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons issued missing-person notice RZC-0993-2026.
Federal authorities join the search
Arturo Medina Padilla, Mexico's deputy interior secretary for human rights, confirmed that a criminal investigation had been opened and that national and state search commissions were coordinating efforts through a nationwide alert.
According to statements reported by Excélsior, personnel from the National Search Commission were in Culiacán, while the federal Attorney General's Office and the National Guard were also participating.
Authorities said their priority was to find the priest alive.
Sinaloa Gov. Graciela Domínguez Nava said the search operation remained underway and that the state's public security secretary was in contact with the bishop.
She acknowledged that she did not have sufficient information to explain the circumstances of the disappearance, according to Ríodoce.
A history of violence against Catholic clergy
The search for Morales Topete comes against a backdrop of documented violence against Catholic clergy in Mexico. The disappearance of Father Clemente Morales Topete comes amid a broader missing-person crisis affecting thousands of families across Mexico. According to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO), as analyzed by Data Cívica, 133,788 people remained missing or unaccounted for nationwide as of Aug. 16, 2026. The figure is drawn from records dating back to 1952 and underscores the scale of a crisis that has left thousands of families searching for their loved ones. The numbers are updated as new cases are reported and previously missing individuals are located.
According to the Catholic Multimedia Center's 2025 annual report, 13 priests were murdered in Mexico between 2018 and 2025.
The report also identified three priests who remained missing as of the end of its reporting period: Santiago Álvarez Figueroa, missing since December 2012; Carlos Órnelas Puga, missing since November 2013; and Francisco Núñez Martínez, missing since February 2025.
Morales Topete disappeared after that report's cutoff date.
A subsequent tally released by the center in September 2026 and reported by N+ identified four priests murdered since October 2024: Marcelo Pérez Pérez, Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchis and Román de la Cruz Hernández.
Because the two reports cover partially overlapping periods, their figures should not be added together.
One of those killings received international attention in October 2024, when Reuters reported that Father Marcelo Pérezhad been shot dead after celebrating Sunday Mass in San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the southern state of Chiapas.
Reuters highlighted Pérez's advocacy for Indigenous communities and cited concerns raised by the United Nations human rights office in Mexico about threats and attacks he had previously faced.
That killing is a separate case from the disappearance of Morales Topete, which remains under investigation.
Naming violence accurately — and standing with those left waiting
Szymanski urged journalists to use precise language when reporting on violence against religious leaders.
When a person has been murdered, she argued, news reports should clearly identify the killing rather than rely on neutral expressions such as “death” or “passing” that can obscure the circumstances.
“We need to use the right words,” she said.
Discussing the broader consequences of attacks on religious leaders, she described such killings as crimes that can have “the effects of an act of terrorism,” because of the fear and social disruption they may inflict on communities.
Her remarks concern the wider impact of confirmed acts of violence. Morales Topete's case remains a disappearance under investigation, and authorities have not established that he was the victim of such an attack.
For his family and parishioners, the immediate priority is his safe return.
As the investigation continues, they are praying, demanding answers and holding on to the hope Szymanski says sustains communities through prolonged uncertainty:
“One day he will return.”
Anyone with information about Father Clemente Morales Topete's whereabouts is urged to contact the Sinaloa State Commission for the Search for Missing Persons at +52 667 184 1256. People in Mexico may also call 911.
Marcela Szymanski, Head of International Advocacy at the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
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