Sergio Siller was tired of hearing about bad news coming out of his Mexican hometown of Ciudad Juárez. That’s why when the Phoenix resident received the news in late November that Pope Francis was visiting Juárez, he was overjoyed.

“I was just so happy,” Siller said. “Juárez has suffered a lot with the violence. I have friends and family that have passed. Francis is going to help heal the wounds of the city.”

Siller is one of hundreds of Arizonan Catholics making the trip south of the border to see Francis, who begins his Feb. 12-17 historic pilgrimage in Mexico City. Francis’ last stop will be in Ciudad Juárez, just steps away from the Rio Grande. The visit to the border will be the closest a pope has been to Phoenix since John Paul II held a mass in Sun Devil Stadium in September 1987.

Read “Arizonans to make the trek for Pope Francis’ first visit to border”