A record number of pilgrims visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City during the recent Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, local officials reported.
Approximately 12.8 million people visited the shrine on December 11 and 12, 2025, surpassing the record of 12.4 million that was set in 2024.
December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is the anniversary of the final apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego. It is a Holy Day of Obligation in Mexico.
Despite the massive crowds converging on the basilica over a two-day period, everything ran fairly smoothly, said Mayor Janecarlo Lozano. Lozano is the mayor of the Gustavo A. Madero borough, which contains the basilica. The normal population of the entire borough is just over 1.1 million.
Special security to protect pilgrims
To facilitate security, the borough used facial recognition technology, extensive cameras, a large citizen security force, and military personnel as part of the "Operation Basilica 2025." Operation Basilica 2025 continued through December 14.
A handful of people were arrested over the weekend for robbery, extortion of pilgrims, and misuse of public roads, said Lozano.
"Those who thought it was like other years, that they could come and steal, to be able to abuse some passerby, here they came up against a very strong government," he said in Mexican press.
Aside from crime prevention, Operation Basilica 2025 was able to reunite 78 missing people with their families, and provided more than 6,600 medical services on the basilica grounds and on the Calzada de Guadalupe. A total of four people were taken to the hospital, said Lozano.
Additionally, there were 30 stray dogs rescued from the basilica area over the weekend. Those dogs will be put up for adoption.
