Our Lady of Guadalupe festivities, pilgrimages canceled
The Rev. Esequiel Sanchez, rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, announced that celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Shrine Dec. 11 and 12 are canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
After consultation with Cardinal Blase Cupich, archdiocesan and governmental officials on the severity of the local course of the pandemic, it was determined that protecting the health and safety of the thousands of pilgrims who yearly visit the Shrine is best accomplished by closing the Shrine grounds and livestreaming services.
The archdiocese invites all the faithful to celebrate this very important feast day in the safety of their own homes or in their home parishes, and encourages pilgrims to consider making their pilgrimage to the Shrine at another time during the year when the threat level has subsided.
The local police will help in keeping the Shrine secured and will direct traffic and individuals away from the Shrine during this time.
Parishes are also strongly discouraged from organizing any pilgrimages or Guadalupe Torch Runs to the Shrine. Since there will be no admittance to the grounds, parking both on the Shrine grounds and in off-site parking lots will be unavailable.
Please check the Shrine website at www.solg.org for updates, as well as a schedule of livestreamed Masses and parish websites for local Masses and registration information.
Located at 1170 N. River Road in Des Plaines, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has attracted millions of people as a place of pilgrimage since its humble beginnings.
On July 4, 1986, the missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, brought from Mexico, was accepted for permanent display on the grounds of Maryville Academy. In 1997, Msgr. Esteban Martinez, from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, blessed the grounds and poured soil from the Tepeyac of Mexico onto the New Tepeyac of America, which was authorized by the Basilica to be a site to fulfill mandas (promises) to Our Lady.
In 2013, Francis Cardinal George, OMI, decreed the land around where the image was placed to be a Shrine. Each year, on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, thousands make the trip from parishes throughout the Archdiocese and the Midwest to honor Our Lady.
On April 21, 2018, the inaugural Mass for St. Joseph Chapel, located on the grounds of the former gymnasium, was celebrated. The chapel represents only the third church in the Archdiocese of Chicago largely funded by the Hispanic Catholic community. The first two are Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the South Chicago neighborhood and Misión San Juan Diego in Palatine.