Our Lady of Guadalupe Comes to Milwaukee

A life-sized statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe — a Catholic icon — is making an international tour to celebrate the upcoming 500th anniversary of the apparition. She has already had an estimated 200,000 visitors in the United States, including an estimated 7,000 people during a single Mass in Des Plaines, Illinois.

And now the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas is making seven stops in Wisconsin.

The 100-pound statue made its first stop in Wisconsin on Friday Feb. 20 at the Basilica of Saint Josaphat on Milwaukee’s south side, in a predominantly Latino neighborhood. The historic Basilica was completed in 1901, with a large dome that rivals the U.S. Capitol’s.

Rev. Tim Oudenhoven, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse and the Wisconsin coordinator for the statue’s tour, said around 900 people registered to attend before Mass started on Friday. He estimates the number of visitors to the statue in Wisconsin is already up to 10,000.

“This Basilica was built by Polish immigrants and now it’s a place of worship for many immigrants from many different places,” he said before Mass on Friday. “(Virgin) Mary was with the people who were the lowliest of their society at that time and Mary continues to be with all of us, bringing all of us together as family.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe is an especially important icon for Latinos. On Dec. 11 and 12 alone, an estimated 12.8 million people made a pilgrimage to Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City, where, according to the Catholic faith, the apparition occurred in 1531.

Guadalupe Diaz was volunteering at the Feb. 20 service in Milwaukee. She was born on Dec. 12, which is also Our Lady of Guadalupe’s “feast day,” or the day of recognition. She has been to Tepeyac Hill but said seeing the statue in Milwaukee was special to her.

“The meaning for us of her being here, it’s big, it’s humongous,” she told WPR, assisting visitors. Diaz added that while the federal government is cracking down on immigration, the statue is a sign of hope.

“We actually have to in these times that are tough for everybody — we should grab her more than ever. More than ever, grab our faith,” she said.

Visitors to Saint Josaphat were asked to write a prayer on a white ribbon that Archbishop of Milwaukee Jeffrey Grob will take to Mexico. Hundreds of people took part, including members of the mariachi band that played before Mass started.

Juan Camacho is the Vicar for Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He is the pastor to eight parishes in Racine and was born in Columbia. He attended the Mass on Friday and was struck by the statue’s real-looking eyes.

“They seem to be glassy, as if she was about to cry of seeing you,” he told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “And that was very moving for me at that moment.”

Camacho said the statue traveling around Wisconsin and the world reminds people they are not alone.

“We always keep to our faith, even in the moments of darkness, in the moments of fear, in the moments of hesitation and anguish,” he said. “We always stay strong in our faith and hold onto the hope of Christ that He promised us a new life in him.”The statue will be in Milwaukee until Feb. 25 and then travel to Fond Du Lac, Green Bay, La Crosse, Chippewa Falls, Madison and Stevens Point before making its way to Europe and Africa.

Listen to the WPR report

Our Lady of Guadalupe comes to Wisconsin during global tour was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.