For Edgar Morales, the director for the Catholic Association for Latino Leadership, it had been a few years since he’d been on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ annual pilgrimage to Mexico City.
But as soon as his plane landed, he saw an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and knew he was where he was supposed to be.
“There was an overwhelming energy, kind of celebratory, that just kind of fell upon not just me but the group,” Morales said. “It was similar to going home after a long time and hugging your mother. Although we didn’t physically embrace Our Lady, it just felt like we’re back home and we haven’t seen you in a while.”
Morales was among the 300-plus pilgrims from the LA Archdiocese to make the yearly trek from Southern California to Mexico, culminating in a Mass celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on July 11.
This year’s pilgrimage marked the 495th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s first appearance to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
Pilgrims came from several parishes in the archdiocese, including Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood, Presentation of Mary Church in Los Angeles, and St. Anthony Church in El Segundo, among several others. The pilgrimage group also included 15 priests, three deacons, and Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishops Brian Nunes, Marc Trudeau, Matthew Elshoff, and Slawomir Szkredka.
In addition to the basilica, pilgrims also visited the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, the Sanctuary of the Fifth Guadalupan Apparition in Tulpetlac, and the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan.
In his homily at the basilica, with the holy tilma bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe looking down on him, Archbishop Gomez marveled that the mother of Jesus would also so lovingly become our guardian and bring Christ with her.
“It is our privilege to be here in this holy place,” Archbishop Gomez said. “I know I share with you this feeling of joy as we worship in the presence of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As we come before the sacred tilma, and as we lift our eyes to gaze into her eyes, we hear the echo of Our Lady’s tender words to Diego: ‘Am I not your mother?’ ”
Hearing those words and being in the presence of the tilma was especially impactful for many of the pilgrims in attendance.
“It’s truly a special place that in the whole world there’s nothing that can compare to coming to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe,” said Julie Marquez, tour director for the pilgrim group from St. John Fisher Church in Rancho Palos Verdes.
“I think any time that we come close to Our Lady, especially with a focus like a pilgrim — not a tourist, we’re pilgrims — there’s always graces upon graces that can be found, so that’s the beauty of doing a pilgrimage like this.”
During the Mass, some 45,000 prayer intentions collected both in person and online from throughout the archdiocese were placed on the altar, asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Mark Waronek, the longtime mayor and city councilmember in Lomita, was on the Mexico City pilgrimage for the first time, with he and his wife having previously made Marian trips to Fátima, Lourdes, and Poland. Being half-Polish and half-Mexican, the pilgrimage was a chance for Waronek to tap into part of his culture.
“So you’re going to the motherland in Poland and now coming here I feel like I’ve come full circle,” said Waronek, who was representing St. Margaret Mary Church in Lomita. “Each one of the sacred grounds is unique and different, and very emotional.”
Mostly the pilgrimage brought about memories of Waronek’s grandmother, who he said had a deep devotion for Our Lady of Guadalupe, and he hoped to pay it forward by using his pilgrimage experience as a benefit to his community.
“I think for me the mission is to bring back what I’ve experienced here to not only my family, but to my parish and to the people that I know, not just Catholic, but people of all faiths, and leading by example,” he said.
