Besides asking for consolation and strength for Chuyito’s family and friends, the priest exhorted them to repent of their sins and remain united

Jazmín Stengel: Almost one hundred people said their last goodbye to Chuyito (Jesús Ignacio Rojas Ríos), who died on January 13 as a result of a fire. On Friday, January 14, the funeral procession of the child took place along Francisco I. Madero Avenue and the malecon of the municipal capital of Chapala, where family, friends and neighbors of the community gathered. 

Chuyito’s death was caused by a fire at 110 Pino Suarez Street during the early morning of January 10.  The child had first, second and third degree burns over 80% of his body.

The coffin of the boy was placed in front of the Fuente de los Pescadores (Fisherman’s Fountain) on the Chapala boardwalk, to allow family and friends to bid farewell.  Afterwards, the funeral procession sang the norteño as they carried the coffin with Chuyito’s remains along the malecon to the restaurant area known as La Rampa, where the boy used to play. The caravan then continued along Paseo Corona to the parish of St. Francis of Assisi, where the mass was held.

«One could say that an adult person has already served his time here on earth, so it is even more difficult to understand the death of a child… and more so in the terrible and painful circumstances in which our brother Jesús Ignacio died», said the priest who presided at the funeral mass.

During his homily, the priest who conducted the funeral mass said: «The just and the innocent suffer because of other people’s machaca». Neighbors say the child suffered from neglect and mistreatment by his mother and her partner, whose whereabouts are unknown.

The priest added, «The worst thing is when a human being is carried away by vices, debauchery and corruption. As a result of these bad decisions innocent and just people are taken.» However, «Despite the evil and all that this causes we must never feel defeated,» exclaimed the priest in an attempt to encourage those present.

«The justice of men is not perfect; however, from the justice of God no one escapes,» the presbyter reminded the relatives and friends of the deceased. «For love and mercy to bear fruit there must first be justice, because without justice there is no mercy, and without mercy there is no forgiveness,» he emphasized during the homily.

The president of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, attended the Eucharist as a gesture of solidarity.

«It was we who spoiled that perfect harmony that God had created because of the misuse of our freedom …. God did not make us free to choose between good and evil, but to always choose what is best for us and that is to always choose God and his Divine Will», he concluded.

Translated by Elisabeth Shields