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Pope Leo XIV Receives Photos of 1,469 Missing Persons; Bishop Castro Says He “Promised Prayers”
The president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference presented the Holy Father with One Name, a Thousand Voices, a book containing more than 200 pages of photographs, names and personal stories of people who have disappeared in Mexico.
INTERVIEW | CHURCH IN MEXICO
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
10/9/20263 min read
Foto: Su Santidad León XIV con Mons. Ramón Castro Castro, Presidente del Episcopado Mexicano. Crédito: Vatican Media, cortesía de Mons. Castro
ROME, Italy — Pope Leo XIV received photographs of 1,469 people who have disappeared in Mexico and promised to pray for them, Bishop Ramón Castro Castro, bishop of Cuernavaca and president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM), told Press Crux.
The bishop confirmed that he personally presented the photographs to the Holy Father on Tuesday, October 6, in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
According to a post published by the CEM on its Instagram account, the material is part of a book titled Un nombre, mil voces (One Name, a Thousand Voices), which brings together more than 200 pages of photographs, names and personal stories of people who have disappeared in Mexico.
Bishop Castro explained that relatives had submitted the photographs so they could reach the Pope, in keeping with a commitment made by the Núcleo por la Paz (Peace Initiative Group). The bishop was entrusted with delivering them personally.
Asked about the pontiff’s response, Bishop Castro said: “He received them with compassion and promised prayers.”
Mexico’s Missing Persons Crisis
The presentation comes amid Mexico’s ongoing missing persons crisis. In a report published on June 12, 2026, Reutersreported that nearly 135,000 people were listed as missing in Mexico.
The news agency documented complaints from relatives about bureaucratic procedures that had yielded no results and a lack of support for search efforts. It also highlighted the dangers of searching in areas affected by violence. The Mexican government maintained that locating missing persons was a national priority.
In another report published on June 24, Reuters documented searches carried out by groups of relatives who described an inefficient bureaucracy and insufficient financial assistance.
One of the cases involved Norma Laguna, whose daughter, Idaly Juache, disappeared in 2010 and whose remains were subsequently identified. Years later, Laguna also began searching for her grandson Edgar, who disappeared when he was 17 years old.
“One Name, a Thousand Voices”
The initiative was announced in August by the National Dialogue for Peace (Diálogo Nacional por la Paz) to collect photographs and information about missing persons and deliver them to Pope Leo XIV.
According to Red Católica de Noticias, the campaign invited families, search collectives and members of the public to submit names, photographs, locations and dates of disappearance.
The objective was to compile the information into a document to be presented to Pope Leo XIV and the United Nations in connection with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed on August 30.
Bishop Castro’s presence in Rome coincided with a gathering convened by Pope Leo XIV for the presidents of bishops’ conferences and leaders of the Eastern Catholic Churches, marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on love in the family.
According to the Holy See Press Office, the gathering was scheduled to take place from October 7 to 14 in Paul VI Hall.
The presentation of the book to the Pope, confirmed by Bishop Castro to Press Crux, took place the day before. The photographs submitted by the families were personally delivered to the Holy Father, who, according to the bishop, promised to pray for them.
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