A life-size, three-dimensional reproduction of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will visit the Archdiocese of Los Angelesfrom Nov. 23 through Dec. 13 as part of an international pilgrimage, church officials announced Friday.
Known as Madre Peregrina, or Pilgrim Mother, the sculpture will make stops at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, an East Los Angeles church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, church officials
said.
The tour will begin Nov. 23 and continue through Dec. 3 at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. It will then visit Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa Catholic Church in East Los Angeles from Dec. 4-8 before concluding at the cathedral from Dec. 9-13.
“We are filled with joy and are looking forward to the arrival of this unique sculpture which brings Our Lady’s message of hope, uniting our communities of faith around the world as we celebrate her Jubilee year,” Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement. “This visit is a wonderful gift and an extraordinary blessing to our Archdiocese and will serve as a profound source of spiritual strength and unity for our diverse Catholic community.”
The international tour began at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and has visited 16 U.S. cities, including Chicago and New York, as well as the Philippines and Japan, according to the Archdiocese.
Madre Peregrina was created in Mexico City by artist Jorge Ismael Rodríguez López de Lara. The visit is part of spiritual preparations for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
A 50-minute veneration experience will be offered at Mission San Gabriel and Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa. It will include music, an account of the Guadalupe apparitions, a decade of the rosary and a message from Pope
Leo XIV, church officials said.
Visitors also will receive ribbons on which to write prayer petitions. The petitions will be presented at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, according to the Archdiocese.
The cathedral’s annual Las Mañanitas celebration is scheduled for Dec. 11, on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The event will include festivities on the Cathedral Plaza, a rosary, a traditional serenade and a midnight Mass celebrated by Gomez.