The replica image of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos will visit several parishes in Southern California from Friday through Nov. 3.
The welcoming ceremony will be held at St. Joseph’s Church in La Puente at 6 p.m. and will beled by Fr. Luis Ramiro Martinez, who accompanies the image from the Diocese of San Juan de Los Lagos, Mexico, said Miguel Gonzalez, coordinator in California of the Diocese of San Juan de Los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico.
The image of the virgin will be at St. Joseph’s Church until Oct. 6. A farewell mass will be held with Mariachi music that evening.
The image of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos receives almost 6 million visitors each year, making it the second most visited image in Mexico after the image of the Virgin of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Here is the list of churches where devotees can see the replica image of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos:
- Oct. 4-6: San Jose Church, 550 N. Glendora Ave. La Puente, California 91744
- Oct. 7-8: Santa Marianna de Paredes Parish, 7930 Passons Blvd Pico Rivera, California 90660
- Oct. 15-16: Guadalupe Church, 4018 Hammel St. Los Angeles, California 90063
- Oct. 24-28: Rosario Church, 14815 S. Paramount Blvd, Paramount, California 90723
- Oct. 29-30: Talpa Church, 2914 E 4th St. Los Angeles, California 90033
- Oct. 31-Nov. 3: Guadalupe Church, 427 N. Oak St. Santa Paula, California 93060
According to the Diocese of San Juan de Los Lagos, Mexico, the veneration of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos began in 1623, with the miracle of a young girl, a member of a family of acrobats, was recorded. The young girl, along with her parents, was traveling to Guadalajara when she suffered a fatal accident during a performance. The girl tragically fell from a trapeze and died. An Indigenous woman, moved by the family’s grief, asked for an image of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos to be brought to her, and when it was placed on her body, the girl was revived.
It is believed that after the incident, many heard about the miracle, and the figure has since led millions of faithful to visit the Basilica-Cathedral of the Diocese of San Juan de Los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico where the original image lives.