While Chapala welcomed the Virgin of Zapopan last Sunday with all the customary fanfare, the beloved religious image came to town with two special companions in tow: Guadalajara’s new archbishop, Cardinal Jose Francisco Robles Ortega, and a duplicate statuette that will reside permanently in the San Francisco parish church.
Elegantly attired in a white satin gown and royal blue traveler’s cape, the glass-encased image that was paraded along Chapala’s main thoroughfare turned out to be a replica of the real Virgin of the Expectation figure that remains ensconced at Zapopan’s Basilica and a twin of the one that came to stay.
The original, now at least 471 years old, is considered too fragile to be used in the frequent pilgrimages made in her honor to other parts. She only leaves her home church for the annual October 12 Romeria from the Guadalajara cathedral. A double known as La Peregrina (traveler) is used to fill in for all other occasions.
Upon arrival at the north end of Avenida Madero, La Peregrina was placed aboard a giant float, set inside a crown-shaped frame that was surrounded by fresh floral arrangements and angel statues. The float appeared near the tail end of the traditional procession led by Chapala’s drum and bugle corps, scores of ritual dancers, a motorcade of Jalisco traffic police and the multitudinous Virgen de Zapopan honor guard. Cardinal Robles rode behind the cavalcade in a separate vehicle, bestowing his blessing upon onlookers gathered along the route.
La Peregrina was carried off the float at the front of the church and placed next to a handsomely decorated outdoor altar where the cardinal and a team of auxiliary priests officiated at mass. She remained in place after the service while the Queen of the Lake duplicate was paraded out along the Malecon to the foot of the town pier for her Chapala debut. The new image – outfitted in an ivory gown and cape ensemble, both heavily embroidered with golden threads – was immediately toted back to the church to be installed in a small chapel located just left of the entrance.
Originally used as the temple’s baptistery, the space has been refurbished with a cantera stone niche backed by a stained-glass window decorated with a pair of angels that appear to float above the Virgin’s head.
According to Chapala curate Enrique Monteon Curiel, it took a full year to get through the process of submitting a formal petition and obtaining authorization to acquire a sanctioned replica of the revered image. Like all four official models of La Peregrina, Chapala’s Virgin has been touched directly against the original image to absorb her presumed divine forces.
The twin figures spent the night together at the San Francisco church. Early Monday morning Chapala’s Queen was taken out for a traditional nautical jaunt to Alacran Island, returning in time for services held to bid La Peregrina a fond farewell.