{"id":504453,"date":"2026-10-22T17:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/504453\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T17:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T17:48:10","slug":"la-peruvian-catholics-celebrate-milagros-tradition-ahead-of-pope-leos-peru-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/504453\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Peruvian Catholics celebrate ‘Milagros’ tradition ahead of Pope Leo’s Peru trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the annual Mass and procession to celebrate El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros (\u201cthe Lord of Miracles\u201d), Abraham Villalobos has been carrying the anda \u2014 the religious float carrying the image of Christ \u2014 for the past 15 years.<\/p>\n

For Villalobos, carrying the weight on his shoulders means praying for his family, work, and his three sick daughters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why I always come to pray to the Lord,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I am carrying the anda, I ask him to let me feel the pain and weight of carrying it so that my daughters can suffer a little less. That is my personal devotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far from home, Peruvian Catholics in LA upheld their traditions and faith, honoring their sacred depiction of Jesus Christ with a Mass on Oct. 18 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, followed by a procession to La Placita Church in Olvera Street organized by La Hermandad del Se\u00f1or de los Milagros ministry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than 50 men \u2014 dressed in purple habits with white cords tied around their necks and waists \u2014 took turns carrying the anda, rotating duties during brief breaks as others took their place. In the front row, two brothers carried the weight on their shoulders, as their facial expressions said it all, reflecting the image of Jesus on the cross.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Every\t\t\t\tMembers of the La Hermandad del Se\u00f1or de los Milagros ministry carry the anda holding the sacred image of El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros during a procession from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to La Placita Church in Olvera Street on Oct. 18. (John McCoy)\t\t<\/p>\n

In Peru, October is known as Mes Morado, or Purple Month, when the faithful participate in daily prayers and long processions honoring the religious image. The month-long activities conclude on Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

According to tradition, the mural was painted by an enslaved African man in Peru. In 1655, a powerful earthquake struck the city, destroying many buildings, except the religious mural. Many interpreted its survival as a miracle, hence the name El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros, and devotion to the image grew over time.<\/p>\n

For Henry Aquije, the image represents a source of redemption and hope. He also grew up in a household where his parents were devoted to the Lord of Miracles. As he learned more about the image’s history, he came to understand why it holds such deep significance for generations of Peruvians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, that kind of resembles my life, where things have crumbled down and eventually, I’ve kept on looking at El Se\u00f1or and \u2026 I found a better path,\u201d Aquije said.<\/p>\n

As the anda was carried through the streets of downtown LA, many devotees had teary eyes, while others gazed upon the image with deep devotion, as if the Lord of Miracles was paying a visit in their hearts.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Every\t\t\t\tLA Peruvian Catholics venerate in front of the anda holding the sacred image of El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros during a procession from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to La Placita Church in Olvera Street on Oct. 18. (John McCoy)\t\t<\/p>\n

For a family of three, the procession brought an outpouring of emotions. The couple\u2019s baby was among the few who were lifted up, and a man in a purple habit made the sign of the cross as he presented her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lord was by my side during some very difficult and truly miraculous moments in my life,\u201d the mother said. \u201cAnd well, I want my daughter to get to know him too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband, also Peruvian, added: \u201cLast year, we came when she was still in her mommy\u2019s belly, and this year, we\u2019ve come to present her to the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Maria Jesus Acosta Ortega, who is visiting family in Los Angeles from Peru, it was an exciting opportunity to witness the devotion of the Peruvian community outside of her native country.<\/p>\n

She hopes to see Pope Leo XIV when he visits the country in a few weeks<\/a>, saying, \u201cGod willing.\u201d The sight of the faithful brought tears to her eyes, reminding her of her parents, who instilled in her the devotion to the image. During her visit to LA, Acosta was deeply moved to witness people\u2019s devotion to the image.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been deeply impressed by the faith people have here,\u201d Ortega said. \u201cI knew the Lord had crossed borders, but honestly, I never imagined the devotion would be so great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Every\t\t\t\tHundreds of Catholics attended the El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels before a procession to La Placita Church in Olvera Street on Oct. 18. (John McCoy)\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the annual Mass and procession to celebrate El Se\u00f1or de los Milagros (\u201cthe Lord of Miracles\u201d), Abraham…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-504453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}