Bishop William Joensen and Jean Thill welcome Giovanna Redondo, general coordinator of the Pilgrim Mother pilgrimage, for a conversation about the life-sized statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe now touring the Diocese of Des Moines ahead of the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparitions in 2031. Redondo shares the origin of the six-year pilgrimage, the remarkable craftsmanship behind the statue, and what visitors can expect from the bilingual veneration experience as the Pilgrim Mother travels from Saint Ambrose Cathedral to parishes across the diocese. The episode opens with Bishop Joensen's reflections on the feast days of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a tribute to Jesuit composer Fr. Bob Dufford, and a look ahead to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention in Denver.
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:
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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