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“Viva Cristo Rey!” was our theme for our October 2003 Pilgrimage to Mexico in Honor of the Feast of Christ the King led by Fr. Gerardo Zendejas, a native of Mexico, stationed in the USA at the Saint Ignatius Retreat House in Ridgefield, CT.
About 35 pilgrims took part in this pilgrimage where on the Feast of Christ the King we joined the SSPX’s Mexican District in their annual procession to Christ the King from the Basilica to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and which climaxed with a High Mass celebrated at the convent of the traditional Franciscan
Minimes (i.e., the Little
Ones). The procession consisted approximately of a 3-hour walk, during which there was much singing and praying in honor of Christ the King. It was very well attended by the Mexicans and they were very happy to have an American group join them for the first time. It was a beautiful feast day indeed.
We then visited the sites of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as the city of Puebla, also known as the City of Angels, which is home to 365 Chapels, including the church of Santo Domingo with the Rosary Chapel, called one of the Eight Wonders of the World. We also visited other various Marian shrines, namely,
Nuestra Señora de Ocotlán (Our Lady of the Oak that burned), where she burned an image of herself in the trunk of an oak tree.
We continue through the “Land of Grace” to the Shrine of Saint Michael the Archangel in Tlaxacla, where he appeared on the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Diego Lazaro, who was one of Mexico’s first converts by Franciscan Missionary.
“...In front of this place can be found a spring of miraculous water for all infirmities, for the health and healing of all infirmities and necessities. Make it know to all....”, we all drank some water from this spring and brought some home for our loved ones.
While in Guadalajara we visited the nearby basilica of
Nuestra Señora de Zapopan, who is the patroness of Guadalajara, and the miraculous statue of
La Virgen de Zapopan (the Virgin of Zapopan). When a terrible influenza epidemic swept through Mexico in 1918, this holy image was carried in procession through the streets of the village and was thereby delivered from the sickness. So this image of Our Lady is now held in great veneration.
After Our Lady of Guadalupe, the second most popular image of Mary in Mexico is
Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos (Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes), and inside the church that contains this image, local pilgrims inch their way on their knees from the back of the church to the main altar to seek Our Lady’s intercession.
We then continued to the highlight of our pilgrimage, the shrine of Christ the King,
El Cerro del Cubilete, where Fr. Zendejas celebrated Mass in one of its side chapels. The importance of this shrine cannot be undervalued, as it symbolizes the unity of the Mexican people in the Catholic Faith.
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