Mexico resumes pilgrimage for the Virgin of Guadalupe Day with 11 million faithful

Mexico resumed the massive pilgrimage to the Basilica for the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, celebrated this Monday with 11 million faithful, after it was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic and in 2021 it suffered restrictions, reported the mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum.

of the eleven millions of attendees, “five millions” of parishioners attended the temple in “the last 24 hours” and “some 10,000 stayed overnight in the atrium of the temple” in tents, which was prohibited last year, the mayor reported at a press conference.

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“According to the police, it has been one of the celebrations where more people have attended”Sheinbaum added.

In 2019, the temple, located in the northern sector of the City of Mexicoreceived more than 10 millions of faithful.

Pilgrims camp on the esplanade of the Guadalupano atrium to celebrate the 491 years of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in the Mexican capital (Mexico). (EFE/Isaac Esquivel/)

One of the most important activities of the pilgrimage takes place in the first minutes of every December 12, when the pilgrims sing the mornings accompanied by mariachis.

Parishioners come from remote locations and even from abroad, mainly Latin America, to spend a few seconds before the image of the Virgin Brunette.

A man holds a figure of the Virgin upon his arrival at the Guadalupe atrium to celebrate the 491 years of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, Mexico. (EFE/Isaac Esquivel/)

Pilgrims camp on the esplanade of the Guadalupano atrium to celebrate the 491 years of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in the Mexican capital (Mexico). (EFE/Isaac Esquivel/)

They begin to arrive days before the Day of the Virgin of Guadeloupe, some on foot, by bicycle or in large caravans. Many of them enter on their knees until the image of the Virgin.

According to Catholic tradition, the image of the Guadeloupe that is observed in the Basilica was miraculously embodied in the ayate (rectangular blanket of coarse cloth) worn by the indigenous Juan Diego, canonized in 2002, to whom religious accounts say he appeared.

Pilgrims sleep on the floor outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. (NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP /)

Pilgrims sleep in the street next to an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. (NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP /)

Pilgrims camp on the esplanade of the Guadalupano atrium to celebrate the 491 years of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in the Mexican capital (Mexico). (EFE/Isaac Esquivel /)

Source: Elcomercio