The pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe ended its annual archdiocesan journey on Saturday, when nearly 200 faithful participated in a sidewalk Rosary procession from St. Brigid Church, Avenue B, across town to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard on West 14th Street.

Each year since around 2015 (except Covid/2020), the statue embarks on a sacred pilgrimage that begins in February and ends in November, starting at the northern part of the New York archdiocese and visiting more than two dozen parishes during those months, staying temporarily in each parish.      

The procession was followed by a special evening Mass celebrated by the Guadalupe parish pastor, Father Jesus Ledezma. More than 250 people attended the liturgy. The Rosary procession (with police escort) and the Mass were conducted in Spanish; both featured a mariachi band and choir.        

Plans for the feast day  

The statue will be featured at the annual procession that precedes the morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. That large street procession begins at the Shrine and ends at the cathedral, where Cardinal Timothy Dolan will celebrate this year’s Guadalupe Mass. Father Luis Saldaña, STL, will deliver the homily.  

“This is about promoting the love of the Virgin Mary, her maternal love. She is the mother of us all,” Gustavo Ramirez, coordinator of the Shrine’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Committee, told The Good Newsroom at the Shrine shortly before the procession faithful arrived late Saturday afternoon, November 29. “Her love takes us to Jesus, the love for Jesus through the love of Mary.”  

Ramirez, a married father of three and grandfather of one, noted that the Guadalupan devotion was a tradition during his childhood in his native Mexico, and remains important to him now as a family man.   

After the Mass, Deisy Navarrete, who took part in the procession, said she decided to participate and stay for the Mass because “this was the last procession of the year before the 12th (of December); this devotion is very important for my family and me. It’s tradition; it’s part of who we are. She is our Blessed Mother, she protects us all.” Navarrete is U.S.-born of Mexican ancestry; she’s a parishioner of St. Anselm/St. Roch parish in the Bronx.  

Maintain a faith as strong as Noah’s 

In his homily, Father Ledezma spoke of the importance of the procession and the upcoming Guadalupe feast day, as well as the significance of November 30 being the First Sunday of Advent. “All these (Marian) acts of faith and devotion benefit all of us, I welcome you all,” the pastor said. “And also, now we are entering the time of Advent, a time that is very important in our faith, in our Church, leading us to Christmas, an encounter with the Lord.” Father Ledezma also spoke of the important Christian belief in the Second Coming of Christ. He advised that we should maintain a faith as strong as Noah’s, no matter what others think, and amid personal challenges and the ills of the world, such as war and injustice.    

He expressed his contentment with the procession and Mass attendance despite the cold weather and fears among immigrants concerning mass deportations. “We give thanks to God,” he added. After Mass, he told The Good Newsroom, “The procession was wonderful, very beautiful, with young people and children carrying candles and flowers, and praying the Rosary, and there were also people from other (parish) communities.”