in April 2005. In 1904, the Holy See assigned an
Apostolic Delegate as
resident representative in Mexico. The Holy See and Mexico broke diplomatic relations after Mexican President
Benito Juárez confiscated church property between 1856 and 1861. President Juárez disbanded religious orders and ordered the
separation of church and state in the new
Constitution of Mexico, making Mexico a secular country. Some of the powers of the
Catholic Church were reinstated by President
Porfirio Diaz. In 1926, after several years of the
Mexican Revolution and insecurity, President
Plutarco Elías Calles, leader of the ruling
Institutional Revolutionary Party, enacted the
Calles Law, which eradicated all the personal property of the churches, closed churches that were not registered with the State, and prohibited clerics from holding public office. The law was unpopular, and several protesters from rural areas fought against federal troops in what became known as the
Cristero War. After the war's end in 1929, President
Emilio Portes Gil upheld a previous truce where the law would remain enacted, but not enforced, in exchange for the hostilities to end. In 1974, Mexican President
Luis Echeverría paid a visit to the Holy See, becoming the first Mexican head-of-state to do so. In 1979,
Pope John Paul II became the first Papal leader to visit Mexico. In 1992, after more than 130 years, the Mexican Government re-established formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. That same year, resident diplomatic missions were established. During his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis, in reference to the
Mexico–United States border wall, stated that "A person who only thinks of building walls, and not building bridges, is not Christian". This statement was made in reference to the comments made by U.S. President
Donald Trump's with regard to the border wall. Each year, Mexico donates two nativity scenes and Christmas decorations to the Vatican as part of a cultural event known as “Mexican Christmas in the Vatican” and “Hands of the World in the Vatican.” ==High-level visits==