PILGRIMAGE OF IMAGES OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AND ST. JUAN DIEGO CONTINUES WITH VISITS TO PARISHES AND SCHOOLS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE
November 3, 2021  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

—Media is invited to cover parishes’ and school groups’ building of floats that will participate in the 90th Procession and Mass to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe in East L.A. Dec. 5—

Starting in mid-October, the pilgrimage of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, known as La Peregrina, and Saint Juan Diego visited half a dozen parishes, including St. Catherine of Alexandria in Catalina Island, after the kick-off Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where hundreds of faithful have had the opportunity of veneration. In November, the pilgrim images are continuing the journey to parishes, a mission and a cemetery in Ventura County, including St. Rose of Lima Parish in Simi Valley (Nov. 2-3), the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura (Nov. 4-5), Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard (Nov. 6), and St. Mary Magdalen Parish (Nov. 7). Then the images will travel to parishes in San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles, as a spiritual preparation for the faithful leading up to the 90th Procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 5. The November schedule for the pilgrimage can be found here.

“The Virgin of Guadalupe is our mother and our protector, and during these days of devotion, we seek her intercession for our families and communities, our nation and our world,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez. “This pilgrimage of images is a beautiful way for us to come together as one family of God to pray and prepare for the 490th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance to St. Juan Diego, which we will celebrate on Dec. 12, 2021.” 

The annual procession through the streets of East L.A. will include a float contest with participation of Guadalupano parish groups and Catholic schools. Media are welcome to cover the pre-procession float building. (Please refer to contacts above for coverage.)

The Procession and Mass are part of the Jubilee Year celebration inaugurated in September 2021 to celebrate 250 years of the Archdiocese’s missionary spirit. Throughout this year until September 2022, the faithful will cross parishes’ and Mission’s Holy Doors to celebrate their call to mission and their willingness to help others in need, honoring Jesus’s call to be his missionary disciples. Other Jubilee Year “Forward in Mission” events are being held and planned at parishes and Missions. For more information on the Jubilee Year, visit forwardinmission.com.

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. Her image has been a symbol of unity, peace, compassion, and hope for people around the world.

The pilgrimage of the images will conclude at the 90th Procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 5 in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in East Los Angeles. 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 commemorating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe 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, visit lacatholics.org/guadalupe.

To contribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego celebrations, click here.

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