San Juan de los Lagos, or “Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes,” a famous and miraculous statue from the Blessed Mother’s Basilica in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico, made visits to multiple parishes in the diocese in October.
The image visited St. Christopher parish in Moreno Valley October 16–19, Christ the Redeemer parish in Grand Terrace October 20-22, Our Lady of Solitude parish in Palm Springs October 23-25, and Holy Innocents parish in Victorville October 26-28. The visits drew hundreds of faithful parishioners to join processions with the statue, special Masses and prayer services asking for the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
History
The image dates back to 1542, when Franciscan Friar Miguel de Bolonia, who founded the Mexican village of San Juan Bautista de Mezquititlán and built a local hospital and chapel, where he placed a 20-inch statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. The statue had been crafted by an indigenous artisan using corn-paste.
Then a miracle occurred with the statue in in 1623, when a family of traveling Spanish acrobats passed through the village en route to Guadalajara, Mexico. Tragedy struck when their young daughter was fatally injured during a trapeze act. As the family held a grieving vigil in the chapel before her burial, the Immaculate Conception statue was placed on the dead child’s body. The girl was miraculously resurrected and instantly restored to perfect health.