The Archdiocese of Tijuana organized its 26th annual March-Pilgrimage for Life and Peace on Sunday, March 22, drawing parish groups, anti-abortion activists, and community members through the city’s downtown streets. Auxiliary Bishop Mario Nicolás Villanueva Arellano led the procession, which began at the Diocese House and ended at the Tijuana Cathedral on Calle Segunda in the Zona Centro.
March Dedicated to Families of Violence Victims
This year’s edition was dedicated to families who have lost loved ones to homicide, forced disappearance, or other violent acts. Participants carried signs with messages about life, peace, and family as they walked through central Tijuana.
Hans Santillán, president of the Binational Guard of Our Lady of Zapopan, said the Tijuana march was part of a broader national Catholic mobilization. Parish groups from across the archdiocese joined alongside community organizations advocating for family values as a foundation for social stability.
26 Years of Annual Marches in Tijuana
The Archdiocese of Tijuana has held this march every year since 2000, when Mexico’s Catholic bishops invited all dioceses nationwide to organize pro-life and pro-peace demonstrations. A previous edition drew an estimated 15,000 participants. The event has grown into one of the largest annual faith-based gatherings in the city.
Mexico’s broader Catholic march movement gained significant momentum in October 2022, when more than one million people marched across 30 states in a national mobilization organized by the Mujeryvida platform. That effort had the backing of over 1,000 organizations throughout the country.
Tijuana, home to roughly 1.9 million residents and situated directly on the U.S. border across from San Diego, has faced persistent violence in recent years. The Catholic Church has positioned these annual marches as a peaceful civic response to insecurity in the region.
The archdiocese has not yet announced a date for the 27th edition of the march, as reported by La Jornada Baja California.