Podcast Episode
Encountering Our Lady of Guadalupe: Giovanna Redondo on the Story Behind the Pilgrim Mother – 08/01/2026

About this episode
Segment 1 — Bishop's Reflections
Bishop Joensen opens the show on the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, honoring the presence of Fr. Bob Dufford, SJ — member of the influential St. Louis Jesuits and resident at the Creighton University Retreat Center in Griswold, Iowa — and looking ahead to the August 1 feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, patron of moral theologians. He reflects on St. Ignatius's own spiritual conversion and the founding of the Society of Jesus. Looking ahead, Bishop Joensen shares that he'll celebrate baptism and Eucharist at Saint Peter Vietnamese Church, and previews his upcoming trip to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention in Denver, hosted by Archbishop James Golka, August 3–6, 2026.
Segment 2 — Interview with Giovanna Redondo
Giovanna Redondo, general coordinator of the Pilgrim Mother pilgrimage, joins Bishop Joensen and Jean Thill to discuss the six-year journey of the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue across the United States. Redondo traces the project's roots to a 2006 visit to Chicago and shares how the pilgrimage — now marking the 495th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparitions in 2026 en route to the 500th in 2031 — was born from the devotion of lay Catholics working in communion with the Church. She details the statue's creation by Mexican sculptor Jorge Ismael Rodríguez, including its prosthetic eyes and donated human hair, and describes the roughly 45-minute bilingual devotional experience — including a narrated retelling of the apparition, music, and a ribbon-petition tradition connecting parishes to a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. She also previews the pilgrimage's next stops in California, and its eventual conclusion at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois, under Rector Very Rev. Esequiel Sanchez.
Segment 3 — Wrap-Up and Local Schedule
Bishop Joensen closes with the full schedule for the Pilgrim Mother statue's visit to the Diocese of Des Moines:
Saint Ambrose Cathedral, Des Moines — through August 4
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Ankeny — August 6–13
Saint Boniface, Waukee — August 15–21
Saint Bernard, Osceola — August 23–September 2
Corpus Christi, Council Bluffs — September 4–11
Full schedule details: https://www.dmdiocese.org
Bishop Joensen closes with reflections drawn from Archbishop Luis María Martínez's Am I Not Your Mother? Reflections on Our Lady of Guadalupe, and shares thoughts on Mary's presence in the lives of the faithful.
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