Crossing Borders: The Pilgrimage of San Francisco Xavier to Magdalena, Sonora

Crossing Borders: The Pilgrimage of San Francisco Xavier to Magdalena, Sonora

For more than 300 years, pilgrims from Mexico and the United States have traveled by foot and horseback to Magdalena, Sonora, to honor San Francisco Xavier and fulfill personal vows of faith. This talk explores the fascinating history behind this binational tradition, its connections to Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino, Spain, and the Indigenous, Mexican, and Mexican-American communities who continue to participate. More than a religious pilgrimage, the journey offers a powerful example of how culture, faith, and shared history can transcend political borders—and how the borderlands can be a place of connection rather than division.

Alex La Pierre is the director and co-founder of Borderlandia, a bi-national organization committed to building public understanding of the borderlands. A public historian, his experience spans the nonprofit sector in Nogales and government work with the National Park Service in New Mexico…