Ecatepec, Mexico, Feb 14, 2016 / 12:39 pm
Thanksgiving was the focus of Pope Francis' Sunday Angelus remarks in Mexico. He invited the Mexican faithful to help make their country "a land of opportunities" while not forgetting their origins.
The Pope reflected on the first Mass reading from Deuteronomy, in which Moses gave directions to the people.
"At harvest time, at the time of abundance and first fruits, do not forget your beginnings," Francis said Feb. 14. "Thanksgiving is something which is born and grows among a people capable of remembering. It is rooted in the past, and through good and bad times, it shapes the present."
Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered for Mass at the Ecatepec Study Center, where Pope Francis continued his Feb. 12-17 visit to Mexico.