Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – The Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) has asked every parish, chapel and cathedral in the country to ring their bells at precisely 1 p.m. (Central Time) this Monday, April 21, inviting the faithful to pause in prayer for the repose of Pope Francis, who died earlier in the day at the Vatican aged 88. Puerto Vallarta, as well as those churches located in the deanery of the coastal and mountainous region, will join the rest of the nation in the ringing of bells.
In a pastoral communiqué circulated to dioceses and on social‑media channels, the CEM said the simultaneous peal is meant to “bid farewell to the Holy Father and unite the People of God from Tijuana to Tapachula in a single act of gratitude and mourning.”
- Diocese of Tepic: Bishop Luis Artemio Flores Calzada instructed clergy, religious and lay ministers to celebrate a special Mass of thanksgiving immediately after the bell‑ringing.
- Regional schedules: Parishes in Nayarit will begin their liturgy at 12 noon, while those in Jalisco — including Puerto Vallarta and the wider coastal‑sierra deanery — will follow the national 1 p.m. timing.
- Metropolitan Cathedral, CDMX: The cathedral activated the traditional cien campanadas protocol earlier in the morning, announcing the sede vacante with 100 slow tolls.
According to the Holy See’s press office, the pontiff’s body will lie in state beginning Wednesday, April 23, when it is transferred from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica for public veneration.
The Vatican added that the official medical bulletin detailing the cause of death will be released Monday evening after the traditional rito de constatación formally confirms the passing of the Bishop of Rome.
Mexico — home to more than 97 million Catholics, the world’s second‑largest Catholic population — reacted swiftly. Social networks filled with black‑and‑white portraits of the first Latin‑American pope, and President‑elect Claudia Sheinbaum called Francis “a humanist who opted for the poor.”
In Puerto Vallarta, parish administrators told MNB they expect all coastal churches to join the 1 p.m. tribute. “Even beach‑front chapels will stop tourist weddings for five minutes so the bells can be heard over the malecón,” said Fr. Héctor García of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.
Francis visited Mexico in 2016, celebrating Mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe and meeting indigenous communities in Chiapas. His emphasis on social justice and migration resonated deeply with Mexican Catholics, bishops noted in statements today.
