The Basilica of Guadalupe or Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church located in the metropolitan area of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Old Basilica of Guadalupe

The Old Basilica of Guadalupe is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

building in

state,

. It is located in the metropolitan area, just outside the city's downtown. Francisco de Paula Verea y González de Hermosillo, Bishop of Linares, had a great devotion to the Virgin of Tepeyac. In 1867, he ordered the construction of a small church in her honor. The walls were of ashlar, and there was an oil-on-canvas painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the altar. Mass was said out in the open air in front of the church.Benavides, Leopoldo Espinosa. "Los Templos de Monterrey. La Basílica de Guadalupe", Editora Regio, February 12, 2019
/ref> In 1895, Santiago de los Santos Garza Zambrano, bishop of Monterrey replaced the small church with a larger stone structure. The area in front of the church became known as La Plaza de Guadalupe, where vendors would set up stalls during the festival celebrations on December 12. Due to the popularity of the sanctuary, in 1905 the government extended the tram line to the area. In 1930, the plaza was renamed for the poet

Salvador Díaz Mirón Salvador Díaz Mirón (December 14, 1853 – June 12, 1928) was a Mexican poet. He was born in the port city of Veracruz. His early verse, written in a passionate, romantic style, was influenced by Lord Byron and Victor Hugo. His later ver ...

. The Old basilica has a 1931 four-manual

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

. In the 1960s, the sanctuary became a parish church for the Colonia Independencia neighborhood. It is the former center for the Basilica of Guadalupe, by which it was replaced in the latter 20th century by the current Basilica complex. It is smaller than its more modern counterpart, which is barely 50 meters away.

Present basilica

Standing in the neighborhood of Colonia Independencia, just outside the city's downtown area, the temple is one of the larger Church edifices in northern Mexico. It is dedicated to

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

under the title

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

, Patroness of America, who reportedly appeared to St

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego (), was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill o ...

on Tepeyac Hill outside

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1531. Year after year, the church becomes the destination for thousands of the faithful devoted to the Virgin, especially on the days prior to her feast day, December 12. On that date, beginning at the stroke of midnight leading into the 12th,

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

s play and sing traditional songs, or the mañanitas, paying tribute to the Virgin. Usually, the weeks prior to Our Lady's holiday,

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s are made by ''peregrinos'' who arrive praying or chanting, and matachines who dance all the way up to the basilica. They all emerge from various directions to converge onto the church to pray and hear Mass in front of the copy of the image of the Guadalupana. The original is in the Mexico City basilica. On March 14, 2023,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

allowed the

canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

of the venerated copy in the basilica, through the

Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

. A solemn ceremony was held on December 6, 2023, presided by

Rogelio Cabrera López Rogelio Cabrera López (born 24 January 1951) is a Mexican prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the archbishop of Monterrey since 2012. He has been a bishop since 1996. Biography Rogelio Cabrera López was born in Santa Catarina, Guanaju ...

, Archbishop of Monterrey. Image:Basilica de Guadalupe Monterrey 17.jpg, Basilica of Guadalupe (south side) Image:Basilica_de_Guadalupe_Monterrey_08.JPG, Temple entrance with the motto ''¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu Madre... ?'', Spanish for ''Am I not here, who is your mother?'' Image:Basilica_de_Guadalupe_Monterrey_20.jpg, In the background, several downtown buildings. Image:Basilica_de_Guadalupe_Monterrey_28.jpg, Outside the Basilica, traditional shops.

Other Monterrey churches

Other notable Roman Catholic churches in the area are: * Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey * La Basilica de la Purísima Concepcion - ("La Purisima") * Capilla de los Dulces Nombres (the Chapel of the Sweet Names) * San Juan Bautista de La Salle * Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Roble * El Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady of Guadalupe Buildings and structures in Monterrey Shrines to the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic churches in Mexico Basilica churches in Mexico Our Lady of Guadalupe Tourist attractions in Monterrey Landmarks in Monterrey National Monuments of Mexico Religion in Nuevo León

Old Basilica of Guadalupe

Present basilica

Other Monterrey churches

See also

References