The pilgrims’ journey took them for miles, some for days on end as they carried framed icons of the Virgin of Guadalupe on their backs, forming a procession of mobile shrines of paper flowers and plastic tinsel.

A total of more than 5 million catholic faithful flocked to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, to offer their thanks for daily miracles of good health or decent jobs, and to pray for her help for the next year, as Mexico struggles with a fierce drug war and the global economic recession, which has not spared the country.

The Virgin of Guadalupe, an avatar of the Virgin Mary, is the supreme icon and mother of the Mexican Catholic Church, and adored in many other Latin countries by the moniker “Empress of the Americas”, and seen as a figure of compassion and help, especially when times are harsh. It’s times like the present, when her faithful need her the most.

The day before the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera called the faithful to prayer for a resolution to “the wave of violence that has destabilized Mexico.” According to the country’s attorney general, 5,736 people have been killed this year in the war between drug lords and police, the figure is twice what it was last year.

Mexico City’s highest Catholic authority especially urged people to pray for the soul of Silvia Vargas, one of thousands of kidnapped people in Mexico in the past few years. Vargas, 19, who was the daughter of a wealthy sports official, was kidnapped on her way to class last year. Her body was found last weekend, buried under a patio in a house south of Mexico City. Her identity was confirmed Thursday by DNA test results.

In their pilgrimage, hundreds of thousands of people bicycled into Mexico City, which is one of the largest on Terra, among an atmosphere of reverent silence in the otherwise chaotic streets. Volunteers dispersed along the avenues offered pilgrims free cups of coffee and pieces of bread.

The basilica’s surroundings were calm and quiet, despite the millions-strong gathering. Many pilgrims slept wrapped in blankets along the curbs at night. Most of the crowd were young and working class, and were dressed in jeans, sneakers and T-Shirts with images of the Virgin, as well as brandishing flags and shawls with her countenance.

The worship of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe harks back to December 9, 1531 when she appeared in a vision to an Indian peasant, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on a hill to the north of the ruined Aztec capital where today’s basilica was later built. Accounts of the event say that the Virgin spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl, an Aztec language still spoken in parts of Mexico. The Spanish bishop required proof of the appearance so Juan Diego gathered roses on the hill. When he offered them to the bishop, an image of the Virgin miraculously appeared on his cloak, called a tilma.

Now more than ever, amid this global recession, people are seeking the Virgin of Guadalupe’s help and guidance, and while we’re unsure what the Virgin Mary would or should do to fill one’s pockets with pesos, it’s clear that as far as solace and spiritual guidance is concerned, she will be very important in coming times to the faithful of Mexico. To them we say Vaya con Dios! EB out.