Originally published at National Catholic Register
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco will celebrate Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas at the Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe (Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe) Oct. 7, 2025, in Tepeyac outside of Mexico City.
This shrine is the site of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s appearance to St. Juan Diego in 1531, leading to the conversion of several millions of Aztecs. The shrine houses Mary’s image on his tilma. The Mass of the Americas is a liturgy of unity with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States and Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico and all the Americas. The Mass has been broadcast on EWTN.
Archbishop Cordileone announced this celebration as part of Project Guadalupe 2031, a new initiative to raise awareness of and answer Pope Francis’ call to prepare for the 500th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031.
The Mass of the Americas will be sung by a festival choir, featuring hundreds of singers from across the United States and led by Richard Carrillo of the University of Nebraska.
Carrillo, 41, who is a “mestizo-American” of mixed Mexican and Indigenous heritage, first conducted the Mass of
