Pilgrimage to Honduras

I spent last weekend in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, on a pilgrimage to celebrate Our Lady of Suyapa, the national feast of the country.  The apex of the pilgrimage was offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, concelebrating with his eminence Oscar Cardinal Rodriquez, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa.  The Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa was packed with thousands of pilgrims.  Officials estimate that three million people filter through the basilica grounds during the days surrounding the feast.  I have no trouble believing it.  There were several times as many people outside the packed basilica as inside.  Hundreds were camping in tents on the basilica grounds.  Some set up booths to sell things, others set up restaurants in tents.  Many were walking around enjoying the festivities.
Seeing the crowds around the basilica gave me great hope.  Many of the Honduran people have abandoned their Catholic faith to become Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Mormons, etc.  The country is still about 80% Catholic, but these other sects are in a full-court press to get the Honduran Catholics "saved".  Each of the four times I have traveled to Honduras, I noticed groups of people from the United States on mission trips in the airplane.  Some are Catholic, but most are well-meaning evangelicals heading there to do mission work, set up churches, or build things for a couple of weeks.  At times it can seem overwhelming that so many people have to be catechized on such limited resources in the poor country.  But the crowds at the basilica showed me that Honduras is still a Catholic country that loves the Blessed Mother and her Son's Church.
I am trying to think of a comparison with something that we do here in the United States.  We don't really celebrate our national patron like they do in Honduras.  Our national feast is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the December day seems to come and go without much mention of her as our national patron.  Perhaps it's because our country has never been recognized as a Catholic country like Honduras has.


Fr. Javier Martinez, Deacon Francis Wagner, Fr. Jason Bedel, Archbishop Schnurr, Fr. Jan Schmidt

Cardinal Rodriguez, President Lobo, the First Lady

Finally, it's worth mentioning that about 40 people from the Archdioces of Cincinnati participated in the pilgrimage including the Most Reverend Dennis Schnurr, our own Archbishop.  It was a privilege to spend time with him, the Cardinal, my fellow pilgrims and people I had met in Honduras in years past.  On Saturday night, there was a big concert celebration.  I met Mr. Lobo, the President of Honduras, his wife, and the President of the Congress.  Interestingly enough, my front row seat was in front of the Supreme Court and other government dignitaries. Not sure how that happened...