A Christmas tree in Mexico carries the faces of loved ones who never came home

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s been 10 years since Verónica Rosas set up a Christmas tree. The sorrow brought on by the disappearance of her son in 2015 has been too overwhelming.

Before the 16-year-old vanished in a Mexico City suburb, mother and son yearned for the winter season. They loved buying natural Christmas trees. To brighten them up, they hung Diego’s favorite decorations: figurines of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

“It’s been too hard and I have not been able to set up a tree,” said Rosas, who recently met with other grieving relatives to make Christmas ornaments in remembrance of missing loved ones.

The gathering was hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Ecatepec, near the capital, where residents endure robbery, femicide and other crimes.

Rosas and a dozen more families showed up carrying pictures of their relatives. For a few hours, they pasted the images onto old CDs and circles of cardboard, and sprinkled them with glitter.

A priest celebrated Mass and blessed their work. Afterward, the ornaments were hung from a “tree of hope” inside the cathedral, where they will remain until Feb. 2.

“We want to draw attention to the crisis that we’re living,” said Rosas, who founded an organization providing support for Mexicans sharing her pain. “It’s a symbolic gesture that keeps what’s happening in plain sight.”

Official figures indicate that more than 133,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 1952. Human trafficking, kidnapping, acts of retaliation and forced recruitment by cartel members are among the causes.

The phenomenon has affected Latin America for decades. In each country, many mothers, sons and sisters have made life-altering choices to search for their relatives — often because authorities fail to act or deliver answers.

“This has been a Way of the Cross,” said Marisol Rizo, referencing the biblical account of Jesus carrying the cross before his crucifixion. She has searched for her mother since 2012. “Thirteen years have passed and we can’t make authorities do their jobs.”

She said her children were little when her mother vanished, and juggling motherhood while searching for her took a toll.

“My mom always told me to take care of them,” she said. “But as I searched for her, I forgot about my children.”

Rizo believes her father was responsible for her mother’s disappearance in a country where at least 10 women or girls are killed because of their gender every day. He has denied any involvement.

Like numerous other relatives of the disappeared, Rizo navigates the winter season with sorrow rather than joy. She still remembers how, years ago, she spent days round Christmas posting flyers on the streets.

It’s a common practice among people with disappeared relatives in Mexico. Each poster contains contact information, as well as the photo, name, distinguishing features and the date a person went missing.

“On Dec. 24, I used to cry a lot,” Rizo said. “I could see happy people pouring out of shopping centers while I was posting flyers, dragging my sorrow.”

Rizo's daughter, now 17, joined her in crafting round ornaments at the Ecatepec cathedral. Yet the memories sparked by seeing photos of her vanished mother felt almost unbearable.

“These spheres represent a deep sadness to me,” Rizo said. “This is not the place where I would have wished to see a picture of my mom.”

In some cases, relatives of the disappeared have been dismayed by lack of support from religious leaders.

Catholic mothers like Rosas, overwhelmed with fear, sought comfort at their local parishes after their children vanished. But long-trusted priests sometimes rebuffed them.

“I remember when I arrived in a church five years ago, requesting a Mass for my daughter, and I was told ‘We don’t celebrate Mass for disappeared people,’” said Jaqueline Palmeros, who recently found her child’s remains in Mexico City.

“But I believe that the Church, which closed its doors to us for a long time, is an alternative path to access truth, justice, memory and repair,” she added.

During a recent encounter with relatives of the disappeared, Bishop Javier Acero asked for forgiveness. Representing Mexico City’s archdiocese, he has publicly supported victims of disappearances and holds a monthly meeting with relatives in need of spiritual support.

“As church leaders, we recognize that at times we have not acted as we should — out of fear or out of not knowing how,” Acero said. “If we failed to receive you with the care you needed, if we did not pray as you asked us to, please forgive us.”

Rosas attended the meeting alongside members of an ecumenical group that has offered spiritual shelter for years. Known as “the church circle,” it brings together nuns, an Anglican priest and several other pastors from different denominations.

Holding the mothers’ hands, the faith leaders routinely celebrate Mass in public squares ahead of protests demanding answers from the government. They dress up in gloves and rubber boots to dig up pits where human remains may be. All year round, they post flyers of missing sons and daughters throughout Mexico’s streets.

The Rev. Luis Alberto Sánchez is among them. With open arms, he welcomed relatives at the Ecatepec cathedral. There they shared breakfast and he sprayed lacquer on the newly made ornaments.

“We can’t remain silent,” said Sánchez, whose own brother was kidnapped and killed. “The voice of the disappeared, of those who have perished, needs to resound and say ‘no more.’”

Rosas treasures his blessings and regards all members of the church circle as friends. She, too, has spent mournful Christmases searching for Diego, and they have supported her the whole time.

“I wish for people belonging to all faith communities to congregate and replicate our model everywhere,” she said. “In that way, all families could get this constant presence of the church and the hope that we carry within our hearts.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

People whose relatives have gone missing decorate Christmas ornaments with photographs of their missing loved ones to hang on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

A photograph of Ricardo Orozco, who disappeared on August 19, 2016 in Tizayuca, Hidalgo state, decorates a Christmas ornament to hang on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Marisol Rizo, left, who said her mother Maria Dolores Rizo Juarez went missing on Dec. 22, 2012 in Alcoman, state of Mexico, and her daughter Leslie Mendez, decorate Christmas ornaments with her photograph to hang on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Christmas ornaments with photographs of the missing lay to dry before hanging on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Christmas ornaments with photographs of the missing sit to dry before hanging on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Arlet Guerra Orozco, 7, decorates a Christmas ornament with the image of his uncle Ricardo who went missing to hang on the Tree of Hope during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

A photograph of Argenis Yosimar Pensado Barrera, who disappeared on March 16, 2014 in Xalapa, Veracruz state, covers a Christmas ornament to hang on the Tree of Hope, during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

Sister Maria Elena cuts a photograph of a missing girl to paste on a Christmas ornament to hang on the Tree of Hope, during an event organized by the diocese of Ecatepec at the Church of the Sacred Heart of San Cristobal in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rushing higher worldwide, and oil prices are easing Wednesday as hopes build that the war with Iran could end soon. That's even though some of the signals investors saw as hopeful are already under dispute, and several prior bouts of optimism in financial markets quickly got undercut by continued, fierce fighting in the war.

The S&P 500 rallied 0.9% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. That followed even bigger gains for stock markets across Europe and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street’s rally from Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 294 points, or 0.6%, as of 2:08 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher.

Oil prices also fell back toward $100 per barrel after President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that the U.S. military could end its offensive in two to three weeks.

That added to optimism following a couple tenuous signals of hope from earlier Tuesday that Wall Street latched onto, including a news report quoting Iran’s president as saying that it has “the necessary will to end the war” as long as certain requirements are met, including “guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression.”

The worry on Wall Street has been that the war may last a long time and keep oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a brutal blast of inflation.

But hope has been quick to reverse to doubt on Wall Street, triggering manic swings back and forth for financial markets since the war with Iran began. Trump has also made statements that lifted markets, only to see the gains quickly disappear after increasing his military threats.

Shortly before Wall Street began trading on Wednesday, Trump claimed in a post on his social media network that Iran “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”

“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, quickly called that claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.

Oil prices also remain high, even if they’ve eased recently. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was sitting at $101.51 following its declines, which is still up from roughly $70 before the war began.

U.S. gasoline prices rose again overnight to a national average of $4.06 per gallon, according to the auto club AAA.

Iran, meanwhile, hit an oil tanker off the coast of Qatar and Kuwait’s airport on Wednesday while airstrikes battered Tehran as the fighting continued. Iran also continues to hold a grip on the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes during peacetime.

“De-escalation hopes have given markets a lift, but we think the effects of the war would, in many cases, persist even if the war did end soon,” Thomas Mathews, head of markets, Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, said in a research note Wednesday.

“It’s worth thinking through how markets might fare if the war were to end ‘very soon,’” he wrote. “Do markets have further to recover if sentiment continues to improve? The answer is almost certainly yes.”

The White House said Trump will deliver a public address Wednesday evening on the Iran war.

On Wall Street, most stocks rose as Big Tech powered the move higher. Gains of 3.8% for Alphabet and 0.8% for Nvidia were two of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

Eli Lilly climbed 5.1% after U.S. regulators approved its GLP-1 pill for weight loss.

Such gains have pulled the S&P 500, which sits at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, back to within 5.6% of its all-time high set early this year. Just on Monday, the index briefly neared a 10% drop from its record, a steep-enough fall that professional investors have a name for it: a “correction.”

Nike sank 14.5% even though it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said it gave some lackluster financial forecasts.

Hasbro fell 4.8% after the toy company found someone had gained unauthorized access to its computer network and is working to assess the full impact.

Energy companies fell broadly as oil prices eased. Exxon Mobil slumped 5% and Chevron fell 4.9%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes leaped more than 2% in France and Germany. Asian markets had even bigger gains.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 5.2% after a survey showed business sentiment for major Japanese manufacturers improved despite worries about the Iran war.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report said U.S. retailers made more money in February than economists expected. A separate report said U.S. manufacturing growth last month was slightly faster than economists expected.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.32% from 4.30% late Tuesday.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

James Conti works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Philip Finale works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader reacts near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A screen displays financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)