ANNUAL OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PILGRIMAGE KICKS OFF OCT. 27-NOV. 3 IN VENTURA COUNTY
October 16, 2018  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

2018 Pilgrimage Schedule of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego

In the spirit of the Synod of Youth taking place in Rome, for the first time the Pilgrim Images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego will visit a school in each of the five pastoral regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

In celebration of the 487th anniversary of the miraculous apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego, this year La Peregrina, a pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start the annual pilgrimage with visits to parishes in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Oct. 27-Nov. 3.

In the spirit of the Synod of the Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment taking place in Rome in October, for the first time this year, the images will visit five schools in each of the pastoral regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which includes Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties. The traveling images will also visit more than 17 designated pilgrimage churches throughout the Archdiocese. Full schedule of the pilgrimage is attached.

After remaining Oct. 27-31 in Ventura County at Mary Star of the Sea Parish (Oct. 28-29), Our Lady of Assumption and St. Bonaventure High School (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), the traveling images will head to Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara County, where they will be welcomed by the faithful at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (227 N. Nopal St., CA 93103) Nov. 2-3.

The pilgrimage will make its way to Los Angeles County, where the images will be welcomed by parishioners on the evening of November 4 at St. Alphonsus Church in Los Angeles (532 S. Atlantic Blvd., Los Angeles, 90022), where they will remain until November 5 for veneration.

The annual pilgrimage of the images serves as spiritual preparation for the 87th Annual Procession and Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 9 in East Los Angeles. The Guadalupe Procession is the oldest religious procession in L.A. It was established by Mexican Catholics who fled persecution by the Mexican government during the Cristero War in 1931. The Archdiocese’s annual celebration commemorates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe that recalls the miraculous apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Saint Juan Diego at Cerro del Tepeyac (Tepeyac Hill), Mexico City, in December 1951, when she left her image on his “tilma” or cloak. Her image has been a symbol of unity, peace, compassion, and hope for people around the world.

La Peregrina, a pilgrim image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, is an exact digital reproduction of the original image in Mexico City’s Basilica, which has been blessed and touched to the original image. This year marks the 12th anniversary when the gift was hand-delivered to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Monsignor Diego Monroy, then Rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City.

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