Archbishop Burke to lead pilgrimage to Mexican shrine

St. Louis, Mo., Feb 5, 2007 / 13:22 pm

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis will lead a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, from June 4 to 9. The archdiocese has planned the trip in honor of the Patroness of the Americas.

According to a press release from the Archdiocese, the archbishop has long revered Our Lady of Guadalupe and has frequently led several pilgrimages to the shrine.

In December 1531, Mary appeared to a Mexican Indian named Juan Diego and left a miraculous impression of herself on his cloak, called a tilma. She appeared to Juan Diego a total of four times and asked him to build a church on the site of her first apparition. She also appeared to his uncle, which resulted in a miraculous healing.

One of the astounding results of the apparition was the surge of devotion that developed among formerly pagan peoples. "There were 9 million baptisms in eight years," the archbishop noted.

"She brought the mercy of God to that place. When you are there, you feel you are in the presence of the Mother of God," said Archbishop Burke.

The trip will include Mass at the shrine and veneration of the tilma, on which Mary’s image is imprinted. There will also be Mass at the Church of the Fifth Apparition, the one to Juan Diego’s uncle.

Pilgrims will also tour the ruins of the Pyramids of the Teotihuacan, which recalls the pagan civilization that converted to Catholicism after Our Lady’s apparition.

In addition, there will be a Mass celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of Ocotlan in the city of Tlaxcala, where Juan Diego received an apparition of the Blessed Mother in 1541, and eucharistic adoration at Tepayac Hill, which is the site of the first apparition.