In pictures: Mexico pilgrims brave cold for national patron saint
- Published
Pilgrims are making their annual journey to Mexico City to honour the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint
The annual event takes place on 12 December at the Basilica of Guadalupe
Believers camped outside the basilica overnight wrapped up against the cold
The event commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, the first indigenous saint from the Americas, in 1531
The virgin spoke to him in the Nahuatl language and told him a church should be built for her where there had once been an Aztec Temple to the goddess Tonantzin
The image of "La Guadalupana", as she is sometimes called, blends its Spanish colonial and Aztec heritage
The faithful travel from all over the world to visit the basilica
Some pilgrims arrived on their hands and knees
The Virgin of Guadalupe is revered by Catholics around the globe
It is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites worldwide
- Published13 December 2017
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