The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is discussing whether to join a years-long devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe that Pope Francis initiated in 2022. The original proposal comes from Mexico’s bishops and the Vatican’s office for Latin America, according to Aleteia’s reporting. The novena would unite Catholics across the Americas in preparation for the 500th anniversary of Mary’s 1531 appearance at Tepeyac.
What happened
In 2022, Pope Francis called for a nine-year novena of prayer honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe. The devotion is timed to conclude in 2031, marking five centuries since the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill outside Mexico City.
Last year, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference and the Pontifical Council for Latin America formally invited the USCCB to participate in the novena’s remaining years. The proposal is now under discussion among US bishops, though no official decision has been announced.
Read the full report at Aleteia.
Why this matters
Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas, and her image has been central to Catholic life in Mexico and among US Hispanic Catholics for nearly 500 years. A formal, continent-wide novena would mark the first coordinated Marian devotion of this scale across North and South America in modern memory.
The 2031 anniversary falls at a moment when the Catholic Church in the United States is increasingly shaped by Hispanic and Latino Catholics, who already represent nearly half of all US Catholics under 40. A shared devotion to Guadalupe could strengthen ties between the USCCB and its southern neighbors while honoring a figure already deeply familiar to millions of American Catholics.
For Catholic readers
Whether or not the US bishops formally join, individual Catholics can already participate in the novena. Pray a decade of the Rosary for the intentions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or visit a parish with a Guadalupe shrine during the December 12 feast day. The intercession of Mary under this title has been trusted by the faithful for five centuries.
Sources:
1. Aleteia — original report
