A life-sized statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe will visit The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion next month as part of a worldwide tour.
The traveling Madre Peregrina (or “Pilgrim Mother”) sculpture – an image of the Virgin Mary – will be at the Catholic shrine March 6-11. It comes from the the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, which is hosting the five-year tour in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in December 1531 on Tepeyac Hill in what is now Mexico City.
A one-hour “pilgrim experience” will be offered multiple times each of the six days the tour is at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the first and only approved Marian apparition site in the United States.
During each time slot, pilgrims will view a brief presentation, have time for quiet prayer and veneration and can submit prayer intentions to be carried to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
The full schedule is available at championshrine.org/guadalupe. Visitors do not need to sign up for a time. They are invited to just come.
An opening Mass celebrated by Green Bay Bishop David Ricken will begin the event at 11 a.m. March 6.
The international pilgrimage began in August in Chicago, where the statue drew over 35,000 people the first week. On tour in Wisconsin through April 22, it’s currently on its first stop, at the Basilica of Saint Josephat in Milwaukee through Feb. 25.
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