MISSION BASILICA SAN BUENAVENTURA IN VENTURA LEADS NOVEMBER PILGRIMAGE OF IMAGES OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AND ST. JUAN DIEGO
November 2, 2022  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

–Media are invited to cover Masses accompanied by Mariachi at parishes in the Archdiocese, as they prepare for the 91st Procession and Mass to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe in East L.A. Dec. 4— 

The Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in Ventura and Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard are two of the nearly 20 sites to be visited in November by the pilgrim images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where hundreds of faithful will have the opportunity of veneration, as a spiritual preparation leading up to the 91st Procession and Mass honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe in East LA on Dec. 4. The pilgrimage stops in November include Mission Basilica San Buenaventura (Nov. 1-2), Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Oxnard (Nov. 3-4), Santa Clara Cemetery (Nov. 5), St. Rose of Lima Parish in Simi Valley (Nov. 5-7). Please see full November schedule here.

“Saint Mary of Guadalupe calls us to be promoters of the two great gifts of life and peace, and of the fruits they produce in our society and in the world,” said Fr. Julio Ramos, president of the Guadalupe Committee, organizers of the Guadalupe events, and pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in El Monte, the first stop of this year’s pilgrimage. “This December 4th, I invite you to join this great Guadalupana celebration and as a family of God celebrate with joy that we have a merciful Father who loves us, guides us, and always sustains us in our difficulties.”

Since mid-October, the pilgrimage of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, known as La Peregrina, and Saint Juan Diego, have been hosted by more than 20 parishes in Los Angeles County. 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. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and one of St. Juan Diego were gifts hand-delivered to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Monsignor Diego Monroy, then Rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City.

The pilgrimage of the images will conclude at the 91st Procession and Mass on Dec. 4 in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in East LA. It is the oldest religious procession in L.A., as it was established by Mexican Catholics who fled persecution by the Mexican government during the Cristero War in 1931. The annual celebration commemorates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which recalls the miraculous apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City, in December 1531, 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.

For more information about the pilgrimage and to contribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations, visit lacatholics.org/guadalupe.

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