Inaugurated in 2010 by President Felipe Calderón and Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, the religious center of Plaza Mariana opened its doors to welcome circa 20 million visitors annually.

The 800 million-peso development designed by Fernando Romero transforms and revitalizes the area around the Basilica of Guadalupe in the northern part of Mexico City, which draws up to 8 million pilgrims every December— second only to the Vatican as the most popular Catholic attraction in the world.

The design is based on the coat of arms of Pope John Paul II, which features the Papal Marian Cross with the letter “M” in one of its quadrants. Here, the “M” is replaced by the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the four quadrants of the volume are defined by a great glass cross that creates an aisle and provides access to the site from the Basilica’s Atrium of the Americas.