PILGRIMAGE OF IMAGES OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AND ST. JUAN DIEGO KICK-OFF WITH MASS AND VENERATION AT THE CATHEDRAL ON SUNDAY
October 14, 2021  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

–The images will travel to Catalina Island on Oct. 22; then visit parishes and cemeteries in the Archdiocese leading up to the 90th Procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 5–

The pilgrimage of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego will officially kick off with a Spanish-language Mass with Mariachi, celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez on Sunday, October 17 at 12 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, where Aztec dancers will welcome the icons on the plaza. The images’ journey to parishes and cemeteries throughout the tri-county Archdiocese of Los Angeles serves as spiritual preparation for the faithful leading up to the 90th Procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 5, which is the oldest religious procession in Los Angeles.

“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 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.” 

Faithful will be able to venerate the images during the Cathedral’s hours of operation, from Oct. 14- 21 and attend weekday Masses and Rosary prayer immediately following the daily Mass at 12:10 p.m. They will bid farewell to the icons during the noon Mass on Oct. 21.

After their stay at Cathedral, the icons will receive a sendoff blessing from Auxiliary Bishop Marc Trudeau for the San Pedro Pastoral Region on Friday, October 22 at the Long Beach Port at 8 a.m. for a weekend visit to St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Catalina Island where the images will be welcomed with a bilingual (English/Spanish) Mass and Rosary at 1 p.m. A procession with the images has been programmed from the church to the island’s Bird Park and back, followed by a bilingual Mass at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, October 23, the church will host farewell Masses and veneration at 8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The images will then make their way to St. Martha Parish in Huntington Park (Oct. 24-25), St. Gregory the Great in Whittier (Oct. 26-27), St. Mary of the Assumption in Whittier (Oct. 28-29), and Mission Santa Inez in Solvang (Oct. 30-31.)

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.

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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