New rector appointed to Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines

Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich on Saturday appointed a new rector for the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines.

The Rev. Esequiel Sanchez will step into the role immediately. Born in Chicago to immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico, Sanchez attended University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein and was ordained into the priesthood in 1995. He most recently served as pastor of St. Bede the Venerable Parish in Chicago.

"Fr. Sanchez comes to this important assignment with twenty years of priestly experience and great dedication," Cupich said in a news release. "The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe enjoys a special significance not only for the Mexican people, but for all of us in the Archdiocese of Chicago. It is a holy place with a vibrant future and I know that Fr. Sanchez will continue to enhance and grow its mission of worship and inspiration."

In October, the Rev. Marco Mercado was removed as the longtime rector of the shrine for having an "inappropriate relationship with an adult man," archdiocese officials said at the time.

The Rev. Adan Sandoval had been handling administrative duties since Mercado was removed from his position. Sandoval will continue to serve as the director of the archdiocesan Consejo Hispano, or Hispanic Council, and remain pastor of Pastor of Our Lady of the Mount Parish in Cicero, Cupich said.

Thousands of pilgrims flock to the Des Plaines shrine for the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a 36-hour event celebration on the Maryville campus each December.

Shrine leaders have been helping organize a campaign to raise funds to renovate a gymnasium on the campus and convert it into an indoor worship space.

In 2013, the shrine announced plans to build a basilica at the northwest corner of River and Central roads. Officials said they raised only $2 million of the estimated $60 million construction cost. Instead, they moved to put that money toward the estimated $3 million needed to renovate the gym, where Masses have been given since 2008.

• Daily Herald staff writer Christopher Placek contributed to this report