Basilica of Guadalupe Rector Removed Amid Financial Investigation
According to InfoVaticana (15 December), the rector, Canon Efraín Hernández Díaz, has been removed from office and placed under a canonical investigation ordered by the Archdiocese of Mexico. The move followed an unprecedented formal complaint by the Guadalupe chapter to Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes.
The canons accuse the rector of opaque financial administration, lack of transparency and accountability, and of bypassing them. The chapter shares legal responsibility for overseeing the sanctuary. According to the canons, these practices endangered both the material assets and the spiritual mission of Mexico’s most important Marian shrine.
In response, Cardinal Aguiar removed the rector on 20 September and ordered a preliminary canonical investigation, opened on 3 October. The Mexican Bishops’ Conference is reportedly considering a full financial audit. The matter has been communicated to Pope Leo XIV, who has instructed that the investigation proceed.
Significantly, on 12 December the Eucharist—normally presided over by the rector—was celebrated instead by the Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor Joseph Spiteri.
There is no criminal investigation by civil authorities.
Picture: InfoVaticana.com, #newsQcezelksqh