GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Every year, parishioners at Our Lady of Sorrows in Grand Rapids brave the cold to make their pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Francis Xavier and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Catholics believe the Virgin Mary visited St. Juan Diego in Mexico on Dec. 12, 1531. It is believed she miraculously left her image on a garment worn by Diego. The miracle has deeply resonated with Hispanic Catholics since.

“The Virgin appears to lift the spirits of the people and unite the Spanish and the Indians as one emerging culture,” Fr. Caesar Arras, a member of the Diocese of Grand Rapids’ Order of Clerics Regular Theatines, said. “Her request to Juan Diego was to ask the bishop to build a house to honor her son.”

Arras said the bishop asked for a sign. Juan Diego returned carrying roses bloom

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