Thousands of pilgrims gathered Friday at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to pay tribute to Mexico’s most revered Catholic figure.

Many pilgrims arrived overnight, wrapped in blankets or resting on the streets outside the circular Roman Catholic church after walking for days from towns and villages across the country in one of the largest Catholic pilgrimages in Latin America.

The celebration comes as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday she had spoken with Pope Leo XIV Friday to invite him to visit the country.

She wrote on the social platform X that the pontiff, who celebrated a Mass at the Vatican earlier in the day in honor of Mexico’s patron saint, had "sent blessings and greetings to all."

By sunrise, tents filled the basilica’s surrounding plaza as worshippers carried statues, candles and flowers dedicated to the Virgin.

Some pilgrims knelt as they advanced toward the church, clutching small images of the Virgin or holding hands for support.

Others sang and played instruments as they made offerings of flowers and candles.

Juan Carlos Rodríguez Campos, a 35-year-old pilgrim, said he was seeking "blessings from the Virgin of Guadalupe."

"She’s Mexico’s mother, someone you’ve got to come visit every year," he said.

The basilica displayed a welcoming message announcing Masses every hour, as priests led crowds in chants of "Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe."

For others, it was just a moment of gratitude.

María Elena Aguilar Rodríguez, a homemaker, said she made the pilgrimage to give thanks on behalf of a family member.

Juan Carlos Angón, a 32-year-old shopkeeper, said he wanted to pay tribute to the Guadalupana, as she is popularly known, "for the year she gave us, for the chance to still be here, alive and healthy."

The December 12 celebration marks one of Mexico’s most important religious events, honoring the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego nearly five centuries ago.

AP Video by Martín Silva Rey