Accompanied by more than 300 faithful, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Monsignor José Gomez, presented 45,000 prayer intentions to the Virgin of Guadalupe during a pilgrimage of his particular Church to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.“It is a privilege to be here, in this sacred place. I know that I share with you this feeling of joy in venerating the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” said the Mexican-born prelate, who leads the largest archdiocese in the United States. He spoke during the Mass he concelebrated with some of his auxiliary bishops and 15 local priests.“As we approached the sacred tilma and looked up to contemplate its eyes, we heard the echo of the Virgin’s tender words to Saint Juan Diego: ‘Am I not your mother?’” he added.The prayer intentions were collected during the annual archdiocesan pilgrimage of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego in parishes, schools, and cemeteries across Los Angeles.
“At Tepeyac, Mary comes to bring us Jesus. There He is, in His Mother’s womb. The heart of Jesus Christ—our Lord and Redeemer—beats beneath hers. The same heart that beat in the Child Jesus in Bethlehem; the same heart that was pierced on the cross of Calvary,” said Bishop Gomez in his sermon.“And Jesus now calls us to follow him, to walk with him and spread his love and joy to the ends of the earth. Jesus calls us all to bring his love to the world, just as our Blessed Mother brought it to Saint Elizabeth,” continued the prelate, who was born in Monterrey.“Each of us here today has that same duty: to bring Jesus into our homes, our work, our conversations, into every aspect of our daily life in society,” he stressed.The archbishop also encouraged the faithful to ask Our Lady of Guadalupe “to intercede for us today, to be our mother and keep us under her protection. May we learn to love her more and more, with the love of a child and with tender affection.”“Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Be our mother and bring Jesus to us, so that we may bring him to others.”
The pilgrimage also includes 26 pilgrims from New York. Together with those from Los Angeles, they will visit historical sites such as the Sanctuary of the Fifth Apparition of Guadalupe in Tulpetlac and the Church of the Holy Family in Mexico City.After the Mass, the pilgrims participated in a talk about Our Lady of Guadalupe given by Ernesto Vega, coordinator of the Ministry of Faith Formation for Hispanic Adults of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and a scholar of the Virgin of Guadalupe.This year’s pilgrimage coincides with the 495th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego in 1531. 2026 also marks the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the current Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, built directly across from the original church, which was completed in 1709.