SAN DIEGO — Oscar Rodriguez walked on his knees the length of a high school gym to reach the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
He felt “it was necessary” to offer a little personal sacrifice to be able to encounter the mother of God.
Rodriguez was among the estimated 2,000 men and women from all corners of the San Diego-Imperial Valley region who stood, and even pushed strollers and walkers, for a momentary opportunity to pray before Our Lady and leave her a rose and a petition.
They had turned out to Cathedral Catholic High School on Oct. 10 for the first public presentation of the life-sized replica of the tilma bearing Our Lady’s image. Nestled in a silver and gold frame, the replica was gently bathed in light on a stage, surrounded by rows of colorful roses.
The replica, an official Church relic, is the heart of the Diocese of San Diego’s five-year initiative to prepare the faithful of all cultures to celebrate the 500th anniversary in 2031 of the apparitions of Our Lady in Mexico.
The “Guadalupe Event,” as it’s known, united the Indigenous peoples under her loving maternal care and energized the spread of the Christian faith across the continent and beyond.
The event began with a colorful procession of more than 70 parishes and movements from the San Diego and Imperial Valley region.
A prayer service followed, led by Bishop Michael Pham. He shared his own experience getting to know Our Lady, including at Holy Family Church, a multicultural parish in San Diego where he served for 11 years.
He said that Vietnamese parishioners there kept telling him, “Our Lady is very special. Not just one person, but many people said they received many graces” after asking for her intercession.
Then, he shared his dream for the next five years.
“I hope that all of us, from all cultures, ethnic groups and languages, come to know Our Lady of Guadalupe,” he said. “I believe once we encounter her, and experience her, we will come to appreciate her much more, and more deeply.”
Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido then explained the diocese’s five-year plan leading up to the 500th anniversary. A central element will be the tilma visiting parishes and other public places.
“This journey is about much more than preparing for an anniversary,” Bishop Pulido said. “It’s about making room for Mary’s presence in our homes, in our parishes, in our communities and schools. It’s about allowing her presence to lead us into a deeper relationship with her Son, Jesus Christ, and his Church.”
After the presentation, the faithful prayed the rosary, recited in five languages: Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mayan, Samoan and Spanish.
Angelina Domingo listened with joy as the Third Joyful Mystery was recited in her native Mayan language of Qanjobalan.
“It’s so, so beautiful, that they recognized us in our language,” said Domingo, a parishioner of San Rafael Parish in Rancho Bernardo, home to a Mayan Catholic community whose members hail from Guatemala.
“We came here to sing and to support the diocese,” said Domingo, who was accompanied by her 8-year-old daughter.
After the rosary, Father Bernardo Lara, who emceed the event, invited everyone to line up in two lines, one to drop off a rose for Our Lady and the other to deposit a ribbon bearing the hand-written petition to her.
As Anacelia Centella waited in line, she remembered the last time she had seen the tilma, when she was 12 years old and her mother had taken her to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Her mother had breast cancer and had gone there to pray to “La Virgen” to sustain her.
“She did not want to have surgery,” said Centella, a parishioner at St. James-St. Leo Catholic Community in Solana Beach. “She told the doctors that she trusted her.”
Now, as an adult immigrant, she wanted to see Our Lady and offer her own prayer.
Antonio Amezca, from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Chula Vista, attended with his wife and children.
Our Lady “was the instrument that brought God to us,” he said. “That’s what is the most important thing in the world.”
After leaving their roses and ribbons, many faithful streamed to the school’s courtyard for a festival, complete with traditional dishes. The rain that had started to fall didn’t dampen their spirits.
That’s where a group of Filipino parishioners from St. Michael Church in Paradise Hills gathered under an umbrella to eat. They said Our Lady of Guadalupe is loved in the Philippines, where she was brought by missionaries during the Spanish colonial period.
They reflected how they first had encountered her when they were growing up in their native country, and why it was important to accompany her now.
“She is really like my heart,” Violet Daen said simply. “I love her.”
Rodriguez, who had approached the tilma on his knees, is a ministry leader in the Hispanic community at St. Didacus Parish. Days earlier, he had the opportunity to see the tilma at the diocese’s Pastoral Center.
“As soon as I saw her, I felt a great joy,” he recalled. “My heart seemed like it was going to jump out of my chest, filled with so much emotion.”
His parents had taught him that “La Virgencita” would always look after him, as she had done for her Son. It seemed natural that he, his wife and a group of fellow parishioners would turn out for the event celebrating her.
In his reflection, Bishop Pulido said that, “when we are afraid, when life becomes uncertain, we long for the presence of someone who loves us.
“That is the presence we celebrate today. That is the presence we will carry throughout our diocese during these next five years. And that is the presence we are called to share with others. Bishop Pham’s dream is that every culture in our diocese will come to know Our Lady of Guadalupe. Today, we are taking an important step toward making that dream a reality.
“Viva Our Lady Guadalupe!” he shouted.
Two thousand hearts responded, “Viva!”
Upcoming events
Nov. 6-21: Tilma will be present at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Brawley
Dec. 4: Our Lady of Guadalupe Presentations, Corpus Christi Church, 6:30–9 p.m.
English: Father Scott Santarosa, SJ, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (SD)
Spanish: Father Eduardo Aguilar, Diocese of Cuernavaca, Mexico
Dec. 5: Our Lady of Guadalupe Presentation, Mission San Luis Rey
English: Ernesto Vega, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Spanish: Father Eduardo Aguilar, Diocese of Cuernavaca, Mexico
Dec. 6: Annual Our Lady of Guadalupe Diocesan Celebration
Procession starts at 11 a.m., Morley Field Sports Complex
Mass at 1 p.m., St. Augustine High School gymnasium
