Basilica de San Juan de los Lago in Mexico – Mass schedule

Catedral Basílica de San Juan de Los Lagos, Centro, San Juan de los Lagos, Mehika

Website of the Sanctuary

52 395 785 1275

Every day: from 06:00 to 20:30

Coming to San Juan and having the best stay:

[su_row]
[su_column size=”1/2″]

Hotels:

[/su_column]
[su_column size=”1/2″]

Getting around

Insurance: Travel Insurance for Mexico
Flights: Flights to Mexico
Things to do: Sightseeing in Mexico
Gifts: Rosaries and statues of Our Lady of San Juan
Cars: Rent a car in Mexico
Books: Lonely Planet, Mexico travel guide
Unesco: Mexico sites inscribed on the Heritage List

[/su_column]
[/su_row]

Pilgrimage to the Basílica de San Juan de los Lagos

At the end of January and beginning of February each year a great pilgrimage occurs to the shrine and the city grows many times in size. This festival is attended by more than a million people, many of them walking, from all over Mexico.

During a week of festivities there are hundreds of temporary stalls selling pilgrimage icons, multiple bands of musicians playing around the great basilica, fireworks demonstrations in the evenings, and a palpable feeling of spiritual joy descend on the town.

Choose from a variety of T-shirts - See more...


If a family member falls ill or undergoes a serious surgery for example, you can promise the Virgin to make the pilgrimage if that person makes it out okay.
See our Top 15 catholic shrines around the world.
See more Shrines and pilgrimages in South America

Basilica de San Juan de los Lago in Mexico - Mass schedule

First Miracle

Spanish missionaries placed a small image of the Immaculate Conception in the church of San Juan de los Lagos.

In 1623, an acrobat traveling with his wife and children stopped in San Juan de los Lagos to give a performance.

While practicing their act, the youngest daughter lost her balance and was killed. An Indian woman, who was the caretaker of the church, begged the parents to place the image of the Virgin Mary over their daughter’s body and prayed for the Virgin’s intercession. The child was then brought back to life.

As word spread of the miracle, the devotion to Our Lady, under the title of “La Virgen de San Juan”, started to grow throughout Jalisco. Today, she is recognized by many people throughout Mexico as well as the United States.

Basilica de San Juan de los Lago in Mexico - Mass schedule

The History of the Basilica de San Juan de los Lago

The statue was in poor condition at the time of the first miracle because of its composition. Made of pasta de Michoacan, a combination of cornstalks and glue, it was brittle and considerably damaged by the elements.

Because of its sad state, the grateful father asked if he might take the statue to Guadalajara to have it restored. The pastor, Don Diego Camarena, gave his permission and sent two Indians of the village to accompany him so that they could return the statue to the chapel while the acrobat went on his way.

As soon as they arrived in Guadalajara, they were approached by a man who asked if they were in need of someone to repair a statue. Since he was an artist, he offered his services.

After settling on a price, the artist was entrusted with the statue. In a few days, the image was returned beautifully restored, with the face and hands of exceptional beauty.

The artist however had vanished, and no one could tell the acrobat anything about him. The circumstances surrounding the artist have always remained a mystery.

The spread of devotion to the miraculous image required a larger sanctuary, so one was built in 1631. The popularity of the chapel was such that on July 14, 1678, Don Juan Santiago de Garabito, the bishop of Guadalajara, ordered an accounting of all the miracles worked through the intercession of Our Lady of San Juan during the preceding ten years, as well as other information regarding the sanctuary.

The detailed reply presented by Nicolas de Arevalo provides the researcher with all the facts regarding the early history of the image and its sanctuary.

By the year 1732, the sanctuary was unable to accommodate the multitudes who pilgrimaged from all parts of Mexico to observe the feasts of Our Lady. The first stone for a magnificent temple was laid in November of the same year.

A great distinction was awarded the shrine on August 15, 1904, when the statue was liturgically crowned by Don Jose Jesus Ortiz, the archbishop of Guadalajara.

Pope St. Pius X authorized the crowning because of the great devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos, the antiquity of the statue, and the abundance of miracles attributed to Our Lady’s intercession through the miraculous image.

The crown used for the ceremony is of gold measuring some seven inches high and weighing six pounds. It is adorned with 197 precious stones including diamonds, emeralds and sapphires.

Although the statue is made of a substance composed of cornstalks and glue, which has a tendency to crumble in a relatively short time, the image has remained in excellent condition for over 350 years.

Basilica de San Juan de los Lago in Mexico - Mass schedule

Measuring about a foot in height, the face is well proportioned and slightly dark in color and the hands are gracefully joined in prayer. The statue is clothed in beautiful garments and stands atop a crescent moon.

Above the image are two Angels of silver who support between them a silver ribbon with the words in blue enamel: Mater Immaculata, ora pro nobis.

The main feast days are February 2, which is Candlemas Day, and December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The wonder-working statue is found in the parish church named for the Immaculate Conception, where it draws thousands of pilgrims from all over Mexico.

The feasts are times of great joyfulness and are observed with fiestas, dancing, bullfights and various amusements.

However, inside the church great solemnity is observed as local pilgrims demonstrate the urgency of their needs by traveling on their knees from the back of the church to the main altar.

Basilica de San Juan de los Lago in Mexico - Mass schedule

The Conquest and the first evangelization

Spanish conquistadors penetrated the region by the year 1530; Almíndez Pedro Chirinos and Cristobal de Onate, captains serving the conquistador Nuno de Guzman, led expeditions in these lands.

Ten years later there was the uprising of the caxcanes and tecuexes tribes that inhabited the region, but were defeated by the forces of Cristobal de Onate, governor of New Galicia, and Don Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain.

After the war, Fray Antonio de Segovia, first evangelizer of the tecuexes, instructed Fray Miguel of Bologna pastoral care of these lands; Fray Miguel of Bologna managed to pacify the region bringing together the wandering peoples and refounding and Christianized Indians. In one of those towns, San Juan Bautista of Mezquititlán, donated an image of the Immaculate Conception he had acquired in Patzcuaro.

In 1572 he founded the parish of tecuexes with head in Jalostotitlán; Including San Gaspar, San Juan, Mezquitic, San Miguel, Valle de Guadalupe, Canadas and Pegueros; all these towns were served by priests from Jalostotitlán.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

San Juan de los Lagos is a town and municipality located in the northeast corner of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in a region known as Los Altos. A good for a day trip from Guadalajara, León, or Guanajuato.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

  • 6:30 – Mass
  • 7:30 – Mass
  • 09:00 – Mass
  • 10:30 – Mass
  • 12:00 – Mass
  • 18:30 – Mass
  • 19:30 – Mass

SATURDAY

  • 06:30 – Mass
  • 07:30 – Mass
  • 09:00 – Mass
  • 10:30 – Mass
  • 12:30 – Mass
  • 13:30 – Mass
  • 16:00 – Mass
  • 18:30 – Mass
  • 19:30 – Mass

SUNDAY

  • 05:30 – Mass
  • 06:30 – Mass
  • 07:30 – Mass
  • 09:00 – Mass
  • 10:30 – Mass
  • 12:00 – Mass
  • 13:30 – Mass
  • 15:00 – Mass
  • 16:30 – Mass
  • 18:30 – Mass
  • 19:30 – Mass

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

The Conquest and the first evangelization

Spanish conquistadors penetrated the region by the year 1530; Almíndez Pedro Chirinos and Cristobal de Onate, captains serving the conquistador Nuno de Guzman, led expeditions in these lands.

Ten years later there was the uprising of the caxcanes and tecuexes tribes that inhabited the region, but were defeated by the forces of Cristobal de Onate, governor of New Galicia, and Don Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain.

After the war, Fray Antonio de Segovia, first evangelizer of the tecuexes, instructed Fray Miguel of Bologna pastoral care of these lands;

Fray Miguel of Bologna managed to pacify the region bringing together the wandering peoples and refounding and Christianized Indians. In one of those towns, San Juan Bautista of Mezquititlán, donated an image of the Immaculate Conception he had acquired in Patzcuaro.

In 1572 he founded the parish of tecuexes with head in Jalostotitlán; Including San Gaspar, San Juan, Mezquitic, San Miguel, Valle de Guadalupe, Canadas and Pegueros; all these towns were served by priests from Jalostotitlán.

The History

The statue was in poor condition at the time of the first miracle because of its composition. Made of pasta de Michoacan, a combination of cornstalks and glue, it was brittle and considerably damaged by the elements.

Because of its sad state, the grateful father asked if he might take the statue to Guadalajara to have it restored. The pastor, Don Diego Camarena, gave his permission and sent two Indians of the village to accompany him so that they could return the statue to the chapel while the acrobat went on his way.

As soon as they arrived in Guadalajara, they were approached by a man who asked if they were in need of someone to repair a statue. Since he was an artist, he offered his services.

Choose from a variety of T-shirts - See more...

After settling on a price, the artist was entrusted with the statue. In a few days, the image was returned beautifully restored, with the face and hands of exceptional beauty.

The artist however had vanished, and no one could tell the acrobat anything about him. The circumstances surrounding the artist have always remained a mystery.

The spread of devotion to the miraculous image required a larger sanctuary, so one was built in 1631. The popularity of the chapel was such that on July 14, 1678, Don Juan Santiago de Garabito, the bishop of Guadalajara, ordered an accounting of all the miracles worked through the intercession of Our Lady of San Juan during the preceding ten years, as well as other information regarding the sanctuary.

The detailed reply presented by Nicolas de Arevalo provides the researcher with all the facts regarding the early history of the image and its sanctuary.

By the year 1732, the sanctuary was unable to accommodate the multitudes who pilgrimaged from all parts of Mexico to observe the feasts of Our Lady. The first stone for a magnificent temple was laid in November of the same year.

A great distinction was awarded the shrine on August 15, 1904, when the statue was liturgically crowned by Don Jose Jesus Ortiz, the archbishop of Guadalajara.

Pope St. Pius X authorized the crowning because of the great devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos, the antiquity of the statue, and the abundance of miracles attributed to Our Lady’s intercession through the miraculous image.

The crown used for the ceremony is of gold measuring some seven inches high and weighing six pounds. It is adorned with 197 precious stones including diamonds, emeralds and sapphires.

Although the statue is made of a substance composed of cornstalks and glue, which has a tendency to crumble in a relatively short time, the image has remained in excellent condition for over 350 years.

Measuring about a foot in height, the face is well proportioned and slightly dark in color and the hands are gracefully joined in prayer. The statue is clothed in beautiful garments and stands atop a crescent moon. A

bove the image are two Angels of silver who support between them a silver ribbon with the words in blue enamel: Mater Immaculata, ora pro nobis.

The main feast days are February 2, which is Candlemas Day, and December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The wonder-working statue is found in the parish church named for the Immaculate Conception, where it draws thousands of pilgrims from all over Mexico.

The feasts are times of great joyfulness and are observed with fiestas, dancing, bullfights and various amusements.

However, inside the church great solemnity is observed as local pilgrims demonstrate the urgency of their needs by traveling on their knees from the back of the church to the main altar.

Let us remain close in the same prayer! May the Lord bless you abundantly!

Posted in Mexico and South America