subject: Make a Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico! [print this page] One of the most sacred of holy sites is located in Mexico City, Mexico. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was built after the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before a man who went on to become the first Mexican saint.
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Legend has it that in 1591, a man who had recently converted to Catholicism was walking through Mexico City when the Virgin Mary appeared. Juan Diego says he was told to build a church at that location and he went to the Bishop with his instructions. Skeptical, the Bishop told Diego he needed more proof that he had actually been contacted by the mother of God. As the story goes there was a second vision and this time Mary gave Diego roses to take to the Bishop in the dead of winter. He carried the roses in an apron and after he took them out, an imprint of the face of Mary was left behind. The Bishop immediately ordered construction to start.
The apron of Juan Diego hangs on the wall in the basilica of the famous church in Mexico. The grounds now include the old and a new basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Tourists are welcomed at the site which is the most visited of all Catholic shrines in the world. There is room inside the church for 50,000 people and a number of private chapels where masses are celebrated several times every day. Confessions are also heard every day from 6AM to 6PM.
The crowds are largest for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th of each year which is the day that the Virgin Mary first appeared to Juan Diego. In the past, crowds of more than 6 million people have made the pilgrimage to the site for the anniversary. The Basilica is located in the northern suburbs of Mexico City in the neighborhood called Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Make a Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico!
