"I plan to break her out," boasted Deacon Anthony Trujillo of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.

For hours on Tuesday, Trujillo and other staff of the church tried to figure out the exact location of a 12-foot, 4,000-pound statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe commissioned by the parish from Mexican artist Georgina Farías.

They eventually learned it was in a warehouse in El Paso after it crossed the Mexican border over the weekend. U.S. authorities refused to allow the Mexican driver and his vehicle to continue from Juárez to Santa Fe.

About 30 of the faithful from Northern New Mexico churches had accompanied the statue — resting on a flat-bed truck — from Mexico City along the Camino Real to Chihuahua. At stops along the way, Catholics thronged the truck, many kissing the statue and placing coins or flowers on it. After the pilgrims departed for home, the statue continued to the border, where border agents thoroughly searched it.

More than one person was willing to donate a vehicle for the final part of the journey. The key was finding the right combination of truck and trailer. Richard Gorman, a land-use agent, was eager. "Let's just go get it," he urged. Ultimately it was determined Gorman didn't have the right hitch.

"We're looking for something that won't get us in trouble with the DOT (Department of Transportation)," Trujillo said.

Finally, it was decided to use equipment belonging to parishioners José Luis Borrola and Valente Ochoa.

Tuesday afternoon, Trujillo, the Rev. Tien-Tri Nguyen and others prepared for the drive to El Paso. They planned to load the statue this morning and head north, stopping in Bernalillo as well as at the rest stop on La Bajada, where they expected to be met by parishioners.

Nguyen compared the uncertainty at the border to the anxiety many immigrants face when their relatives are crossing into the United States. "A lot of immigrant families go through the same experience," he said. Our Lady, he added, "identifies with the suffering of the people."

If all goes as planned, La Virgen will arrive late today. The 3-foot base is already prepared at a site north of the Santuario de Guadalupe, the oldest church in the country dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The statue will be dedicated at 5 p.m. Aug. 15.

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.

Coming Sunday: Read the full story of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and see photographs of its journey from Mexico City to Santa Fe.