Priests and a tour guide’s dead bodies were discovered in Mexico.

• The bodies of two Catholic priests and a tour guide have been discovered.
• The three people were killed on Monday in the state of Chihuahua.
• Pope Francis denounced the killings as a reminder of the violence in Mexico.

Days after being shot dead inside a church in northern Mexico, the bodies of two Catholic priests and a tour guide have been discovered, according to officials.

The three people were killed on Monday in the state of Chihuahua following what is believed to have been a run-in with a wanted drug dealer.

Officials claim that the priests were shot dead while attempting to assist the guide after he entered their church seeking assistance.

The killings were denounced by Pope Francis as a sad reminder of the extent of violence in Mexico.

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In a video shared to social media, Chihuahua Governor Maria Eugenia Campos announced, “We’ve uncovered and recovered… the bodies of the Jesuit priests Javier Campos, Joaqun Mora, and the tour guide Pedro Palma.”

According to the Chihuahua prosecutor’s office, Palma was shot dead along with the two priests who attempted to help as they fled from an armed gang and took sanctuary in a church in the town of Cerocahui.

According to Luis Gerardo Moro, leader of the religious order in Mexico, the three bodies were afterwards hauled away by some individuals in a pickup truck.

According to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the suspect was already wanted for the slaying of an American tourist in 2018. He was recognised by another priest who was present in the church. Jose Noriel Portillo Gil has been identified as the suspect.

The president later clarified that Palma’s wife was one of the two individuals that were abducted on Monday before the murders and is still missing.
Pope Francis voiced shock at the murders.

“Mexico has had so many murders. I have a strong bond of love and prayer with the affected Catholic community “At the conclusion of his weekly audience at the Vatican, the pope stated.

For information regarding the suspect’s whereabouts, a prize of 5 million pesos ($249,300; £203,000) has been announced.

According to the Catholic organisation Centro Catolico Multimedial, some 30 priests have been murdered in Mexico during the past ten years.

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