"By 7 a.m. [13:00 GMT] on Thursday, 9.8 million people were registered in the atrium", Romero said at a press conference.
According to the official, incidents since the influx of pilgrims so far included one fatality due to natural reasons, four complaints of robbery filed with the police, and 7,000 instances of people requesting medical assistance.
The history of the Virgin of Guadalupe, also known as the Dark Virgin, dates back to 12 December 1531, when she first appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous of Cuautitlan municipality. A church was built near where it happened and a cloak with the Virgin's image is stored there. Hundreds of thousands from Latin America and beyond gather to worship the shrine every year.