We started out at the Basilica. This is a very large and one of the most important Catholic churches in the area. Many people pilgrimage to this church every year because it is home to the Virgen de los Ángeles. She is thought to have healing powers. In August nearly 2.5 million people pilgrimage to this church, many crawling on their hands and knees for 22 kilometers (13.6 miles).
While raising support, we shared in our presentation about people in Mexico walking on their knees in order to find favor with God to answer a prayer request. When we visited this church, we saw many people doing this. They would start at the entrance of the church, get on their knees and walk that way to the front of the church. My heart was very sad and heavy to see such zeal without true knowledge of the Gospel. (Thus the reason for the name of this blog.)
They are crawling to pray to the La Negrita (The Black Madonna). You can see her at the front of the church in the gold case. If a person has a certain part of their body that is in pain, they might bring a golden figure of that body part and leave it for the Saint, in hopes of being healed.
After visiting the Basilica, we went to the Ruins. Back in the 16th century, people tried building a church in this location. It was ruined by earthquakes several times before they decided to not to finish the church.
The children enjoyed running around and dancing in the central Plaza.
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