Diocesan pilgrimage to Guadalupe led by Bishop Checchio

For three days in late October, 78 pilgrims from the Diocese of Metuchen, led by Bishop James F. Checchio, went on a spiritual journey to Mexico. The pilgrimage was in preparation for the diocese’s consecration to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, her feast day.
In 1531, the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego and directed him to have a “temple” built so she could bring individuals to her son. Today the church, now the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, encompasses several devotional sites, such as Tepeyac,  the original place where Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego, the original basilica and the “new Shrine,” constructed in 1976, that houses the “Tilma” of Juan Diego, which is emblazoned with the image of Our Lady as she appeared to him. The larger shrine was built to accommodate the nearly 300,000 pilgrims who annually come in a journey of love to visit Our Lady, who told us that “She is our mother.”  
The diocese’s pilgrims arrived in Mexico City the evening of Oct. 20. Early the next morning they headed first to the Church of Santiago, Tlatelolco, where Juan Diego was baptized, and then they attended Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Old Basilica.  
Bishop Checchio presided at the Mass in the Shrine. In his homily he told the pilgrims, “Our encounters with God are sacred moments that should evoke humility, gratitude, reverence and praise. God is in control of our lives until He calls us home.
Let us look to Mary as a model of trust and discipleship.”
After Mass, the pilgrims were able get on a conveyor belt which slowly took them past the “Tilma,” where our Lady’s image was miraculously imprinted in 1531. “Seeing the “Tilma”  in person was spiritually transforming and emotionally overwhelming,” stated Nick Grippo, who worships at St. Matthias Parish, Somerset.
From the Shrine, the pilgrims hiked up to the top of Tepeyac, the Mountain of the Nose, where they visited the Chapel of the Apparition where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego.
At the foot of the Tepeyac mountain, one of the diocese’s pilgrims, Marianne Joy, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, spoke about her affection for Our Lady of Guadalupe. “Coming here has been on my bucket list for a long time,” she said. “Years ago I had the traveling image of Our Lady in my home and took a photo of it. Only after looking at my photo did I notice light pouring out of her Immaculate heart. That picture hangs on my wall to this day,” she stated.
At dinner that evening Father Timothy A. Christy, diocesan vicar general, asked Jesus to tell everyone, “how You desire us to be a blessing for others.”
On the second day of their pilgrimage, the diocese’s pilgrims took an excursion to Puebla, known as Mexico’s most beautiful city. As they started on the three hour trip, Bishop Checchio urged the pilgrims: “Respond to the call. Be disciples.”  Then asked the Lord to, “Bless our families. Give us your protection as we travel. Accompany us as we pray for the intercession of Our Mother.”
Arriving in Puebla in the early afternoon, the pilgrims’ first stop was at Saint Francis of Assisi Church. Here they prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary before Mass in the Chapel of Blessed Sebastian Aparicio whose incorrupt body lies in a glass casket behind the altar. Bishop Checchio presided at the Liturgy and Deacon Frank Sinatra, who ministers at St. James Parish, Basking Ridge, gave the homily. The Mass was offered for the intentions of families and friends in the diocese.
In his homily Deacon Sinatra told the pilgrims, “We need to take the love of Jesus upon us and bear our own crosses. In the Eucharist Jesus gives us Himself. It is the place where Jesus refreshes us. Listen to the invitation. Grow closer to Jesus through the help of Saint Francis and Our Lady of Guadalupe.” Saint Francis, the deacon noted, is the secondary patron of the Diocese of Metuchen.
 While in Puebla, the pilgrims also visited the city’s cathedral, St. Dominic’s Church and its Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Reflecting on the first two days of the pilgrimage, Grippo said, “We are having an amazing trip. This spiritual journey has been totally fulfilling and rewarding. The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was unbelievable.” He added, “We’re praying for everyone back home in the Diocese of Metuchen. Can’t wait to see everyone again and to continue our journey together.”
The third and final day of the diocese’s pilgrimage began with a message from Father Christy to the folks back home. He told them, “We are continuing to pray for all the people of our diocese especially those we have committed ourselves to pray for and in a special way for the renewal of our diocese and greater faith.”
At Mexico’s National Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary under her title of the Assumption, the pilgrims knelt before the altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Then Father Christy presided at Mass in the Cathedral’s Chapel of the Holy Souls. He said the Mass was being offered for St. John Paul II, founder of the Metuchen diocese, “to ask for his special intercession upon our renewal efforts.”
During his homily at the Mass, Father Christy said, “What we do in the days of our Pilgrimage are meant to focus on where we are going in life. St. John Paul II writes that he was aware he needed other people like family, church, teachers and friends in order to get to God. We are here in this chapel today because someone shared their faith with us. On our journey to God the intention in how we do things is the key. What we are entrusted with from God we are to give back with greater love.”
In the afternoon the pilgrims visited Holy Family Church, where they viewed the tomb of Father Miguel Agustin Pro, a Jesuit martyr, before returning to Mexico City and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
For Bishop Checchio and the clergy on the pilgrimage, the return visit to the Shrine brought a rare privilege. They were allowed into a special room reserved for clergy to view the “Tilma” close up for a few moments of quiet prayer. Father Christy called the opportunity, “so special, an unexpected grace,” He added, “Thank you for all your prayers. We will offer up all your intentions as well as pray for the renewal of our diocese and our Church.
The bishop and the clergy then met with Msgr. Diego Monroy, rector emeritus of the Shrine of Guadalupe. He told them about St. Pope John Paul II’s visit to Guadalupe in the first year of his pontificate.  “He experienced a period of ecstasy in prayer…which he felt was the presence of the Virgin. He experienced her tenderness, her great desire to be our Mother. He felt deeply in that moment that she had come to give birth to her Son in the Americas. He felt compelled to proclaim her “Mother of the Americas,” Msgr. Monroy said, adding, “Pope John Paul insisted that his experience in Guadalupe  affected his entire Petrine ministry of evangelization.”
That night, after the pilgrims recited the Rosary, Bishop Checchio spoke to them. “Let us pray that the whole Diocese of Metuchen is wrapped in the “Tilma.” That’s my prayer. That we are all sheltered by Our Mother. Let us consecrate the diocese. Let us set apart the diocese for its sacred use that is to ask the Blessed Mother to bring us to her Son.”
The next day, as the pilgrims headed home, Father Christy gave a final blessing ending with, “We pray that the blessings we have received here [in Guadalupe] will go deep within our hearts, change us and set us on fire for the Gospel.”
Thomas J. Smith, director, diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development, took photos at the pilgrimage and posted them in real time on Facebook along with captions and quotes. The story above is based on those posts.