While in Mérida, Yucatán last week Rosemary and I indulged in savouring the nieves (sherbets) at the Nevería Colón on the Zócalo (city square). There are three flavours that are my favourites.  Two of them are also Rosemary’s, mango and limón. The third the one that I enjoy is from the fruit of the guanábana (soursop which is the fruit of Annona muricata). For us it was a semi-sad event as we often had the nieves with our granddaughter Rebecca back in 2007.

On one of the evenings when both of us were enjoying …de limón I noticed an elegantly dressed man who was not wearing a tie but had a large cross hanging from his neck. He sat down inside accompanied by 8 youngish men who to me were cops in civies. I was much too curious not to ask. 

I went up to the gentleman and said, “Usted parece ser un sacerdote muy elegante.” (You seem to be a very elegant priest.). With a smile on his face he replied that I was wrong and that he was the Bishop of Xalapa (the x is pronounced like an h in ha), Veracruz. He further added that the young men were his priests and that he happened to be a Yucatecan. He invited me to sit and we chatted in my rudimentary Latin. He had one of his priests snap my picture.

S.E. Mons. José Rafael Palma Capetillo is the Auxiliary Bishop of Xalapa in the Rectoría del Espiritu Santo in the fine town of Coatepec, Veracruz.    

Sursum corda          

I particularly delighted the Monseñor in telling him that I knew that Xalapa’s baseball team are the Chileros. This bit of information came via my friend Canada’s Poet Laureate George Bowering who happens to not only like baseball but the Chileros are his favourite Mexican team.

I would think that the Bishop and Bowering should meet as they have a few things in common.    

Rebecca's ghostly presence in Uxmal