Hundreds of people turned out at parishes across the Chicago area in August to welcome the traveling image of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos, with the statue making its first visit to the Archdiocese of Chicago since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 33-centimeter statue of Mary in the form of the Immaculate Conception is a replica of the one in the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico, which has been revered since a child who had died was brought back to life after being touched with the statue 400 years ago.

People have been seeking miracles, often for their children, by praying for the intercession of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos ever since, said Father Gary Graf, pastor of Our Lady of the Heights Parish in Chicago Heights. Our Lady of the Heights hosted the statue Aug. 24-27.

“There’s a strong belief among Catholics in miracles,” Graf said. “This image took on a reputation as a miraculous image among Catholics. Because of the miracle and especially because it involved a small girl, so many parents turn toward her when they are looking for a miracle for a child, a sick child, even an adult child who is suffering from addiction or another problem.”

The basilica is the second most visited Marian pilgrimage site in Mexico and the fourth most visited Marian pilgrimage site in the world, receiving 10 million to 12 million pilgrims a year, said Father Juan Luis Andrade, pastor of Our Lady of the Snows Parish, 4810 S. Leamington Ave., which hosted the statue Aug. 21-23.

“The people are here because they want to see her,” Andrade said. “It’s like a piece of their country, a piece of their culture, a piece of their faith coming to see them.”

It is customary, Andrade said, among Mexican Catholics who seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother to make promises or “mandas” to visit her if their requests are granted. Those who promise to visit Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos can fulfill those promises not only in Mexico, but also by visiting the pilgrim statue, he said.

That is especially important for Mexican immigrants to the United States who are unable to travel to Mexico for various reasons, he added.

Andrade grew up in Mexico, about an hour and a half from San Juan de Los Lagos, and often went to the basilica with his family, seeing the pictures, letters, crutches and wheelchairs left there by people who experienced miracles.

“That’s why you see people coming to see her here, bringing flowers and other offerings,” he explained. “People are coming to say thank you, to present their honor and respect to the Blessed Mother.”

Participants in the Aug. 23 evening Mass said that the traveling icon reminded them of seeing the original in San Juan de los Lagos.

“We saw her in Mexico, and we wanted to see her here, too,” said Karina Alvarez, who attended with her mother. She saw the original statue on visits to relatives in Mexico, she said. “It’s a tradition.”

“We revere the Blessed Mother,” said Magdalena Garza, who is originally from San Luis Potosí, Mexico. “I adore the Virgin as the mother of God.”

In some ways, Andrade and Graf said, having the pilgrim statue of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos visit is like having the matriarch of the family visit, to check on the well-being of her children.

That was a theme continued by Father Guillermo Plascencia from the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos, who celebrated Mass with a congregation of about 500 people in Our Lady of the Snows Church Aug. 23.

In his homily, he emphasized that Mary is the mother of God, but she is also the mother of all the people of God. A mother — a “mamá,” he said in Spanish — is someone who takes care of her children, listens to their problems, even intercedes with their father, and is someone who deserves the love and respect of her children.

“María is the mother of God, and she is our mother,” he said, before leading the congregation in a round of applause for Nuestra Señora de San Juan de Los Lagos.

Andrade has a personal connection to the image. He and his family prayed for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the basilica for his mother when she was diagnosed with lymphoma a year and a half ago. He sought permission to pray in the small space at the top of the basilica where the original icon, made of paste made from corn cane, is kept, but was denied. The statue has been restored three times but is very fragile, he said.

Earlier this year, after his mother completed chemotherapy, a scan showed no sign of the cancer. The family went to pray in thanks, and this time, Andrade brought a dress he had commissioned for a replica of the statue he had made for Our Lady of the Snows Parish. He got permission for himself and his mother to visit the statue so he could touch the dress to the dress on the original statue.

But when they were about to go up, he was stopped by a young man holding a baby. The baby, the father explained, had been in the hospital since birth with an intestinal disease, and doctors told the family they could do no more and sent the baby home to live his last days with his family.

“He knew I was going up to the statue, and he begged me to take the baby with me,” Andrade said. He did, and he has kept in touch with the family. Six months later, the baby is still alive and growing, he said, showing off a picture of the boy on his phone.

Now Our Lady of the Snows is holding devotions to the image, using the replica Andrade had made, on the eighth of every month.

Because 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the first miracle, a jubilee year has been declared, and pilgrims who visit the basilica or the traveling image this year and meet other conditions can receive a plenary indulgence, which is the removal of temporal punishment of sin. People can also pray that indulgence be offered for deceased loved ones, said Andrade.

Most of the people who filled Our Lady of the Snows Church probably came without knowing of the indulgence, but Andrade said he was spreading the word, and made sure that confessions — one of the requirements of receiving the indulgence — were available.

Andrade took the place of Plascencia in the confessional when Plascensia had to prepare for Mass on Aug. 23.

“It’s all about bringing people to an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist through Mary,” he said, looking at a church that was more full than it had been since he became pastor of Our Lady of the Snows in 2022. “This is the ongoing miracle, motivating people in their faith.”