Youth From St. Andrew’s Church Carry the “Peregrina” in Huge Los Angeles Procession

Members of St. Andrew’s in Pasadena had the honor Sunday of escorting the Peregrina, the pilgrim image of the Virgin of Guadalupe (the patron saint of Mexico) in the 83rd annual procession in East Los Angeles.

The procession – the oldest religious procession in L.A. – drew an estimated 40,000 people from Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The group of young adults who carried the Peregrina are part of St. Andrew’s growing Fuente de Vida Ministry group.

The mile-long procession included colorful floats, equestrian groups, mariachis, indigenous dancers, and uniformed Catholic school students escorting the Peregrina, the official archdiocesan pilgrim image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Many wore red and green attire to resemble the flag of Mexico where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego.

“Today we gather to once again say to Our Lady of Guadalupe: ‘We are a family united under your mantle. ‘We place ourselves under your loving protection and care, under the mantle of your love,'” said Archbishop Jose Gomez during the Mass homily.

The procession began at the steps of Our Lady of Solitude Church and ended at East Los Angeles College Stadium in Monterey Park. White doves were released as the Peregrina entered the stadium, where Archbishop Gomez celebrated a special Mass in her honor.

Sunday’s Mass also included a musical line-up of traditional songs in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe performed by award-winning Mexican singer Miriam Solis and several mariachi groups. At the end of Mass, the faithful venerated the blessed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with roses.

The Peregrina is a digital reproduction of the original image, which has survived for nearly five centuries, housed in Mexico City’s Basilica. The reproduction, blessed by the late St. Pope John Paul II, was a gift to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from the Basilica.

In 1531, the Virgin is said to have appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexico native, at Tepeyac, Mexico, and asked him to build a church on a hilltop. Believers say she miraculously left her image on his cloak, or tilma, which he presented to the bishop as proof of her request. Since then, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been a symbol of faith, unity and hope for people all over the world.

This year’s pilgrimage of the framed images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego began Oct. 3 at St. Joseph Church in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County. The faithful from more than 20 parishes and three detention centers in the tri-county Archdiocese welcomed the images with worship services and parish celebrations, leading up to today’s procession and Mass in East L.A.

“We are a family in the Church. A family of families. And our families are so important! In God’s plan of love for the world, the family is a sacred reality — a gift that God has given to us for our happiness and for the happiness of our society.”
St. Andrew’s Church is located at 311 N Raymond Ave. in Old Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 792-4183 or visit http://www.saintandrewpasadena.org/