Thousands of devout Catholics will line the streets of Guadalajara on Saturday, pleading for favors as the region’s most revered religious symbol undertakes her annual “homecoming” to the Zapopan Basilica.
The city’s October 12 “Romeria” is one of the world’s largest religious processions and pays homage to the Virgin of Zapopan, a small statue carved from corn husk resembling a child’s doll.
Since the 16th century, La Zapopana (just one of many titles the icon bears) has been credited with miracle after miracle, from ending wars, famines and epidemics, to bringing rain to Lake Chapala in times of drought.
The Romeria marks the end of a period of several months during which the statue is taken on visits to local parishes. She will arrive at the Guadalajara Cathedral on October 9 and remain there until daybreak on October 12, when she is wheeled out to bring up the rear of a spectacular street procession. Dozens of energetic “indigenous” dance groups guide the way for the Virgin, who – dressed in shiny finery and atop a glitzy float pulled by smartly dressed guards of honor – takes about four hours to reach her ancestral home in the Zapopan Basilica, where a mass is held in her honor.
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