The Pilgrim Mother Visits the Diocese of Des Moines
by Emmett McMenamy | July 13, 2026
By Emmett McMenamy
For someone in the Diocese of Des Moines to visit the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, they would have to travel roughly 1,800 miles to Mexico City. It would take more than 30 hours by car or six hours by airplane. So, for those who can’t make the trip, a life-sized replica statue of Our Lady is paying a visit.
“I feel very motivated because we have many people here in the United States who are not able to go to Mexico, even when it’s their own country,” said Mayra Moriel de Banuelos, coordinator of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Des Moines.
The statue, called the Pilgrim Mother, will visit six parishes in the Diocese from July 15 to September 11, including St. Ambrose Cathedral, Our Lady of the Americas, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, St. Boniface, St. Bernard, and Corpus Christi. The arrival of the Pilgrim Mother invites visitors to learn more about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe and deepen their faith in Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The statue comes with a 50-minute experience for visitors, available at select times depending on each parish. The experience includes music, a narration of the interaction between St. Juan Diego and Mary, a mystery of the rosary, and a recorded message from Pope Leo XIV.
“In the moment we’re living right now, [this pilgrimage] is important,” said Giovanna Redondo, general coordinator of the Pilgrim Mother tour. “The message from Pope Leo right now is for unity and peace.”
Visitors to the Pilgrim Mother can also write prayer intentions on ribbons that will be sent to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where the original tilma is located. Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Mexico City, will bless the intentions at the Basilica’s high altar.
With the variety of prayer options the Pilgrim Mother brings, Moriel de Banuelos is most excited “about the fruits that she's going to bring in, about the message of hope that she's going to bring to the people.”
That message of hope will travel across the United States to prepare for the 500th anniversary of Mary’s apparitions to St. Juan Diego in 2031. The statue started its journey in Des Plaines, Illinois, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in August, 2025. Since then, it has visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and churches in Wisconsin and other states. Another Pilgrim Mother statue is making its way across the Philippines as well.
The apparitions
Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531. Juan Diego was a peasant and a Catholic convert, and Mary chose him as an instrument of evangelization in the Americas. She appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill in modern-day Mexico City and asked him to build a shrine “to show and share her love and compassion with all those who believe,” according to Vatican News.
Juan Diego, following Mary’s instructions, brought this request to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, who doubted the apparitions and asked for proof. Mary told Juan Diego to fill his tilma (or cloak) with flowers and bring them to the Bishop. When Juan Diego opened his tilma, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was on the cloth.
The Bishop agreed to build the shrine, and the inexplicable image on the tilma was the catalyst for mass conversions to the faith. Miraculously and seemingly contrary to science, the tilma is still intact. It has survived the test of time and even a targeted explosion in 1921.
“This is a patroness of America, and there are many people here in America that don't know about her story,” Moriel de Banuelos said. “She wanted people to know about her, and especially the message of hope that she brings.”