Filipinos prepare to receive Our Lady of Guadalupe
For centuries, Filipinos have turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary in moments of uncertainty, grief, and hope. This June, that devotion takes on a special significance as the Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe arrives in the Philippines for a historic nationwide pilgrimage that will bring one of the Church’s most beloved Marian images to communities across the country.
The pilgrimage begins on June 13, 2026, with an Opening Mass at 3 p.m. at The Manila Cathedral, presided over by His Eminence Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, Archbishop of Manila. The Eucharistic Celebration marks the official arrival of the Pilgrim Image from Mexico and the start of a months-long journey that will bring Our Lady of Guadalupe to cathedrals, shrines, and churches throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
More than a religious event, organizers describe the pilgrimage as a national invitation to prayer, renewal, and hope. The visit forms part of the worldwide preparation for the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupan apparitions at Tepeyac in 1531, when the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego and offered words that continue to resonate across generations: “Am I not here who am your Mother?”
Those same words carry particular meaning for Filipinos today.
During a press conference last March, the pilgrimage’s Spiritual Director, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, reflected on how many people continue to carry the burdens of economic hardship, social division, uncertainty, and conflict. In such moments, the consoling message of Guadalupe remains remarkably simple: a mother drawing near to her children.
That closeness is also reflected in the title given to the image by Cardinal Advincula: Madre Peregrina de Guadalupe—the Pilgrim Mother of Guadalupe. Just as Mary journeyed to visit Elizabeth in the Gospel of Luke, she now symbolically journeys from Mexico’s highlands and across the Philippine archipelago, to be with her beloved sons and daughters.
The devotion to La Morenita de Tepeyac is deeply woven into Philippine Catholic history. In 1935, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Guadalupe the Celestial Patroness of the Philippines. Today, as the Church prepares for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions in 2031, Filipino Catholics are once again invited to encounter her maternal presence in a much more personal, tangible way.
The Opening Mass at The Manila Cathedral—the Mother Church of the Philippines and home of the nation’s principal Marian patroness, the Immaculate Conception—thus serves as a fitting beginning for this pilgrimage of faith.
As June 13 approaches, the invitation is both personal and national: to gather, to pray, and to entrust our families, communities, and future to the care of a Mother who continues to remind her children that they are never alone.For Jesuit Communications, a partner in this nationwide effort, the pilgrimage reflects its continuing mission of evangelization through media—sharing stories that deepen faith, foster encounter, and bring hope to people where they are.
AMDG
