Mary, Foundress of America

Earlier this summer, I led the first pilgrimage from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Like many other immigrants to this country, I have a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I learned it from my parents when I was growing up in Monterrey, Mexico. Many summers, my mother and father would take my sisters and me on a 600-mile journey to visit our grandparents in Mexico City. And when we went, we would make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. My experience was not unique. In Mexico, many Catholic families try to make a pilgrimage to the Basilica at least once a year.