El puente del Papa (''The

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

's Bridge'') is a bridge located in

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. Wit ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, across the usually dry

Río Santa Catarina Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. It took its name when

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

offered a Catholic mass over the bridge. A flea market by the same name used to install itself under the bridge during weekends, but after hurricane "Alex" struck the city, among many things, there was a shift in the way traffic was directed and the flea market ceased to exist. Before the

visited Monterrey, the bridge was called "Puente San Luisito" (St. Little Louis' Bridge), as it connected the "San Luisito" neighborhood, (today, Independencia neighborhood) with Monterrey Downtown, across the Santa Catarina River. The name of "Puente San Luisito" was the name of the bridge for over a century, and in just 20 years, it has been completely forgotten.

External links

*http://joseolivamx.pe.tripod.com/joseguadalupeoliva/id5.html Puente del Papa Photos Pope John Paul II Puente del Papa, el Bridges in Mexico {{Mexico-bridge-struct-stub