Pilgrims Honor Our Lady of Guadalupe

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Reuters Pictures An estimated six million people flocked to Mexico City and the biggest Roman Catholic shrine in the Americas for the annual pilgrimage to pay respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe on 12 December

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Reuters Pictures Pilgrims travelled from across Mexico and Latin America to reach the basilica built in honour of the dark-skinned Virgin, Mexico's patron saint.

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Photo:Reuters/Imelda Medina Virgin of Guadalupe Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival A pilgrim carries a Virgin of Guadalupe picture on his backpack in Paso de Cortes, Mexico, on Dec. 9, 2011.

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Photo:Reuters/Imelda Medina Virgin of Guadalupe - Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival Pilgrims carry Virgin of Guadalupe pictures on their backpacks in Paso de Cortes, Mexico, on Dec. 9, 2011.

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Mexican pilgrims carry an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint, in a boat, in Acapulco, Guerrero state, on December, 11, 2011. - Photo: Pedro Pardo / AFP/Getty Images

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AFP The Virgin of Guadalupe is recognised and venerated throughout much of Latin America

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AFP The Virgin is said to have appeared to an indigenous man, Juan Diego, in December 1531. In 2002, Pope John Paul ll canonised Juan Diego, Mexico's first indigenous saint.

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AFP The apparition of the Virgin is said to have happened on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City, where a huge new basilica now stands alongside the Old Basilica

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AP PHOTOS The new building, which dates from the mid-1970s, can hold some 80,000 people

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AP photos Celebrations to honour the Virgin of Guadalupe took place elsewhere in Latin America, including here in Guatemala City

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A pilgrim carries an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on his back as he lights a candle inside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo VerdugoRUYShbE

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Pilgrims carry images of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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Pilgrims carry images of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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A pilgrim carries a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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Pilgrims holding images of Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, wait outside the Basilica of Guadalupe to attend a Mass honoring the religious icon's feast day in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Anita Baca

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Aztec dancer Ehecatonatihu greets a friend while carrying a statue of Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, to an Aztec altar outside the Basilica of Guadalupe during the religious icon's feast day in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Anita Baca

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A banner with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is displayed during the annual pilgrimage to her shrine on a hilltop on the outskirts of Mexico City. The event has become the largest Catholic pilgrimage in the world with as many as six million worshipers traveling to the Basilica of Guadalupe over the two days of the celebration. - Getty images

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Mexican pilgrims sleep near the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. - Getty images

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Pilgrims sleep at Basilica's square during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe's Day in Mexico city

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A worshiper carries an image of Virgin of Guadalupe during annual feast for the Patron Saint of the Americas at the basilica in Mexico City.

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An indigenous family lights candles in Guatemala City on the eve of Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. – Getty images

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Hundreds of clowns arrived at the Guadalupe Basilica as part of an annual pilgrimage of clowns to the sanctuary. – getty images

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Pilgrims carry images of the Virgin of Guadalupe into the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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A boy dressed in traditional clothing sits outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Sunday Dec. 11, 2011. AP / Marco Ugarte

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Pilgrims carry an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe toward the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Sunday Dec. 11, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans are making the pilgrimage to the shrine in anticipation of the Catholic icon’s feast day on Dec. 12. Also known as La Morenita, Our Lady of Guadalupe is Mexico’s most popular religious and cultural image. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Pilgrims sleeps next to a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. Thousands of people from all over the country converge on the basilica bringing images to be blessed on the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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Pilgrims sleep next by pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday Dec. 12, 2011. AP / Eduardo Verdugo

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A pilgrim sleeps next to a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Sunday Dec. 11, 2011. AP / Marco Ugarte

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A pilgrim sleeps by an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Sunday Dec. 11, 2011. AP / Marco Ugarte

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Pilgrims sleeps by their images of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Sunday Dec. 11, 2011. AP / Marco Ugarte

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Candles lit by pilgrims burn outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday Dec. 8, 2011. AP / Anita Baca

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Jamie Cruz, left, who journeyed by foot from the state of Hidalgo, poses for a photo in front of an image of Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe, as fellow pilgrim Eric Perez stands by, inside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday Dec. 8, 2011. AP / Anita Baca

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Bertha Casimiro, left and Martha Sandoval, both of Yuba City, Calif., carry a shrine during the Our Lady of Guadalupe procession Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 in Yuba City, Calif. December 12 marks the feast day of the Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Americas who appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico City in 1531.

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Pilgrims gather to watch a group of Mixtec Indian dancers perform a traditional dance outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday Dec. 8, 2011. AP / Anita Baca

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Photo:Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez Virgin of Guadalupe - Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival - A little girl takes part in an Apache dance as pilgrims celebrate the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Cathedral of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 11.

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Reuters Pictures Ximena (C), 8, takes part in an Apache dance as they celebrate the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Cathedral of Ciudad Juarez December 11, 2011. Millions of Mexican Catholics celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe Day on December 12.

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Photo:Reuters/Luis Galdamez Virgin of Guadalupe - Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival - Vendors sell candles and images of the Virgin of Guadalupe in San Salvador, El Salvador Dec. 11. Thousands of Salvadoran pilgrims celebrate the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Monday.

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Photo:Reuters/Luis Galdamez Virgin of Guadalupe - Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival Pilgrims lining up to enter the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Salvador Dec. 11.

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Photo:Reuters/Luis Galdamez Virgin of Guadalupe - Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage and Festival Pilgrims visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Salvador on Dec. 11.

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Thousands of Mexicans from across the country have travelled to the the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City to commemorate the 480th anniversary of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Reports state that the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world. - Picture: EPA/MARIO GUZMAN

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A pilgrim carries a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica's square in Mexico city

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Reuters Pictures - A Pilgrim covers himself with a blanket during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica's square in Mexico city December 12, 2011. Reuters Pictures - A pilgrim carries a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica's square in Mexico city December 12, 2011.

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Reuters Pictures Pilgrims perform a traditional dance during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica's square in Mexico city December 12, 2011

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Roberto Escobar / EPA A woman attends to the Guadalupe basilica during the commemoration of Virgin of Guadalupe day in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Monday.

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Reuters Pictures - A woman prays in the Santuario de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe shrine in Guatemala City December 12, 2011, during a celebration on the Virgin of Guadalupe Day. According to Catholic believers, December 12 marks the 480th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe at the Cerro del Tepeyac, a shrine in Mexico.

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Oscar Rivera / AFP - Getty Images A child dressed as Juan Diego -indigenous Mexican who reported the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531- poses in front of the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, at the ''Basilica of Guadalupe'' in San Salvador, El Salvador on Monday during the celebrations for the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

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Reuters Pictures A pilgrim perfoms during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica's square in Mexico city December 12, 2011.

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Getty Images - A Mexican pilgrim rests next to a figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe during the annual celebrations at the Basilica of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, on December 12, 2011. Mexicans commemorate the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 1531.