A revered image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from Mexico will arrive in the Philippines next week, launching a monthslong nationwide pilgrimage that Church leaders hope will inspire prayer, Marian devotion and spiritual renewal.
The pilgrimage will formally open with a Mass at the Manila Cathedral on June 13, to be presided over by Cardinal Jose Advincula.
From there, a replica of the Mexican Marian icon and an image of St. Juan Diego will travel to more than 50 cathedrals, shrines and parish churches across the country in a program set to run until December.
In a pastoral exhortation, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines called on the faithful to take part in the spiritual journey and renew their relationship with Jesus Christ through Mary.
Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, CBCP president, said churches hosting the pilgrimage will recite the Act of Consecration and Entrustment to Our Lady of Guadalupe during all Masses while the images are present.
“During this pilgrimage, the Act of Consecration and Entrustment to Our Lady of Guadalupe shall be recited in all Masses in the churches to be visited,” Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, CBCP president, said.
He said the initiative is meant to draw Filipinos closer to Christ while strengthening devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“This visit aims to bring us, Filipinos, closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ and our Blessed Mother,” Garcera said.
The pilgrimage is part of the Church’s participation in the Novena Intercontinental Guadalupana, a global nine-year preparation leading to the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparitions in Mexico in 2031.
The images are also expected to be present during the CBCP’s 132nd plenary assembly on July 3-10, giving bishops an opportunity to take part in the nationwide observance.
Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila has given the pilgrimage image the title “Madre Peregrina de Guadalupe,” or “Pilgrim Mother of Guadalupe,” underscoring Mary’s role as a mother who journeys with the faithful.
Pope Pius XI officially declared Our Lady of Guadalupe as the “Celestial Patroness of the Philippines” in 1935.
In 2001, the CBCP declared Dec. 12 an obligatory memorial and in 2002 recognized her as the “Pro-Life Patroness of the Philippines” in response to the global movement to dedicate the plight of unborn children to her intercession.
