The annual celebration honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, will begin on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. and continue through 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 1170 North River Road in Des Plaines. The Shrine’s observance is the largest gathering of pilgrims honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from the Chicago-area and well beyond are expected to arrive at the Shrine to pay homage to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to Saint Juan Diego on Dec. 12, 1531. The two-day celebration will begin with the inaugural Mass at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. The Very Rev. Father Esequiel Sanchez, Rector for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will serve as the main celebrant. Masses will be offered throughout the next day until the closing Mass at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. “Las Mañanitas,” the traditional serenade to Our Lady of Guadalupe, will begin at 11 p.m. on Dec.11. Additional music and folkloric dance performances by choirs, groups, and pilgrims from around the Midwest are scheduled throughout Dec. 12.