Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan

It is an architectural jewel, one of the oldest and richest buildings in Jalisco. The builders of this Church were Franciscan friars, who built it honoring the” Virgin of the Immaculate Conception” or the “Virgin of the expectation” currently known as the “Virgin of Zapopan”.

It is one of the main religious centers in the country, its construction dating back to the XVIIth century. Inside it has Doric style colonial altarpieces, the ceiling is gothic style, the main altarpiece in Corinthian style; the construction began in 1690 and ended in 1730.

The original towers were demolished in 1889 and the current towers were finished in 1892 and they display rich ornaments, stone grooved columns, and large flower urns. The frontage is plateresque style.

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The Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan  and the abbey of Our Lady of Expectation of Zapopan are a 17th-century Franciscan sanctuary built in downtown Zapopan, in the state of Jalisco, México.

It is one of the most visited sanctuaries in Western Mexico, and it preserves a wooden Virgin that is considered a valuable relic of medieval origin, which came from Spain to New Galicia in the 16th century.

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The Pilgrimage – Romeria

The pilgrimage of the Virgin of Zapopan is the name given to the annual journey that takes place on the morning of Oct. 12 from the Cathedral of Guadalajara to the Basilica de Zapopan. With a procession of Catholics, priests and seminarians carrying the statue of Our Lady from the cathedral to the basilica.

This is a tradition that stems from 1634, when civil authorities asked that the image visits the city of Guadalajara, due to heavy storms and diseases that plagued the city.

Subsequently, the image would be declared patron saint against storms, rays and epidemics. That’s why the image check dozens of chapels and parishes in Guadalajara, as well as schools , hospitals , factories , markets and places that require it during the rainy season. After the stormy season, the image returns to the Basilica de Zapopan.

Today more than three million people attend the pilgrimage, the celebration of the 12th of October and more than six million visitors annually to the basilica.

At dawn on October 12 of each year a procession of lay Catholics, pre-Columbian dancers, mendicants, priests and seminarians carries a statue of the Virgin Mary from the cathedral to the basilica. This festival involves most of the population of both cities and finishes with a mass in the plaza outside the basilica. The event ends with traditional dances and evening fireworks.

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