Mexico shines for Utah pilgrims
MEXICO CITY — Bishop John C. Wester led 29 pilgrims from the Diocese of Salt Lake City to four Marian shrines in Mexico Oct. 10-16, the first pilgrimage by a Utah bishop to Mexico.
About 78 percent of Catholics in the diocese are Spanish-speaking, and the pilgrimage was a way to acknowledge their culture, Bishop Wester said. “I would like this to be a sign of what we are doing as a diocese as a whole,” drawing all the cultures together, not just Hispanic but also Vietnamese, Tongan, Filipino and all the others that are throughout Utah, he said.
The first shrine the pilgrims visited was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where Bishop Wester celebrated Mass at the main altar. Concelebrants were Monsignor Rudolph Daz, pastor of Saint Olaf Parish in Bountiful, and Father Javier Virgen, Diocese of Salt Lake City Episcopal vicar for Hispanic Affairs/associate vocations director.
The basilica’s rector, Msgr. Diego Monroy Ponce, who also is the vicar general for the Archdiocese of Mexico City, welcomed Bishop Wester and the pilgrims. Msgr. Ponce said it was a great joy for him to thank the Lord for the faithfulness of the pilgrims, who came from so far away to tell Our Lady how much they love her, honor her and ask for her protection, guidance and inspiration as they continue their spiritual journey.
Msgr. Ponce also presented the bishop with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a book with information about the history of the Virgin since her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531.
The Lady of Guadalupe teaches us to look continually to Jesus, Bishop Wester said during his homily at the basilica. He made his introductory remarks in Spanish, but switched to English for the homily, which Fr. Virgen translated into Spanish as the bishop spoke.
The Virgin’s message is “‘I know you. I love you, and my son died for you. And I am here to tell you that you are not alone, that you are not a stranger,’” Bishop Wester said. “What Our Lady of Guadalupe is doing is phenomenal. The miracle is one that could be easily missed because what she is saying to Juan Diego is ‘You have worth. You have value. You are the brother of my son Jesus Christ, who died for you.’”
The Lady of Guadalupe is in an attitude of humility, with her face turned aside and her hands in prayer, the bishop pointed out. “As great as she is … she has a humility because she is saying, ‘I am the handmaiden of the Lord. It is God who makes all of us great. It is God who has done great things for me, it is God – my son Jesus Christ – who is doing great things for you,’” the bishop said.
The point of the pilgrimage was “to be able to draw closer together and closer to God so that we can feel the affirmation that Mary gave to Juan Diego and that we are called to give to one another,” Bishop Wester said.
For the Mass, the pilgrims were seated directly in front of the altar, and during the bishop’s homily there was “an intense connection between us and the bishop and Mary,” said Susan Berg, a pilgrim from Saint George Parish. “He wasn’t looking at me but he was talking to me.”
After the bishop distributed Communion to the pilgrims, he turned to the Mexican people, who not only took the Host but also kissed his ring. “They all wanted to touch him,” Berg said, adding that the entire experience made the shrine not just for the Mexican people but for the pilgrims as well.
Bishop Wester’s homily “came from his heart, and it really touched people’s hearts,” Fr. Virgen said. “People wanted to ask Bishop Wester for a special blessing. That is a good sign that what he said…really touched people’s hearts. When I was giving out Communion, I saw a lady crying, telling me, ‘This is so wonderful. I never have seen a gringo bishop try to speak our language.’ That touched her so much. It meant so much to her.”
A native of Mexico, Fr. Virgen feels compelled to celebrate Mass in one of the basilica’s private chapels each time he visits his home country, he said. When he enters the basilica, “I feel the presence of God in a very powerful way,” he said. “The image is divine and I feel through faith that Our Lady is really alive in that image; that it has been given to us, not just to Mexicans but to all the Americas, especially to those who come to her with an open heart and trust in our Blessed Mother.”
For Sandra Maxwell, who works in the diocese’s Hispanic Ministry, it was the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan in Jalisco that had the most meaning, even though she lit a candle for her family at the Guadalupe shrine. “I don’t know why I didn’t have a reaction at (Our Lady of Guadalupe), but at Zapopan I started praying for my husband and all of a sudden I just felt this warm caring,” she said. “I almost started to cry. It was a very different feeling.”
The Virgin of Zapopan is the Patroness of the State of Jalisco; she is credited with many miracles, including stopping an Indian rebellion against Spain in 1541.
Concelebrating a Mass at Zapopan was a highlight for Fr. Virgen, who spent three years studying philosophy at the Franciscan abbey of Our Lady of Expectation there. “It was my dream that some day as a priest I would come and thank our Lady of Zapopan for my vocation as a Franciscan, and now as a diocesan priest,” he said. “I’m so happy and thrilled to celebrate this Eucharist, especially because Bishop Wester is the main celebrant.”
In addition to the shrines at Zapopan and Guadalupe, the pilgrims visited the Virgen del Pueblito in Querétaro, the Santo Niño de la Salud in Morelia and several other churches, including the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.
The pilgrimage renewed faith for Saints Peter and Paul parishioner Teodora Vasquez, who was on the pilgrimage with her husband, Francisco Gomez, as a 50th wedding anniversary present from their children. “We have grown stronger in faith,” she said.
Growing closer to God is the purpose of our lives, Bishop Wester said, and the pilgrimage was a way to do that. With the exception of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mexican shrines are small compared to Lourdes or Fatima, so “there was a certain simplicity to our pilgrimage and an emphasis on the internal pilgrimage that we’re all on,” he said. “People were very prayerful, reflecting on being prayerful internally and letting the Lord speak to us internally. This pilgrimage allowed God to touch their hearts and their souls in a deeper way than usual.”
In all of the churches the pilgrims visited, the bishop felt the presence of God, he said. “That’s the beautiful thing about the Catholic Church. Wherever you go, Christ is truly present.”
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