Every winter, thousands of people from Chicago and across the country travel, often by foot, to suburban Des Plaines for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at 1170 N. River Rd.

Wednesday, a life-sized, holy sculpture of the Pilgrim Mother, the Virgin Mary will arrive at the shrine as part of an international spiritual tour. The sculpture, typically in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, will start the tour in Des Plaines before visiting two other Chicago-area Parishes.

After that, the sculpture will continue traveling on a world journey, stopping in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Colombia and other countries, organizers said, leading up to the 500th Anniversary Jubilee of her apparitions in 2031.

In Des Plaines, an unveiling of the sculpture will take place at 7 p.m. a

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