La Guadalupana: Mass for Our Lady the Virgin of Guadalupe
Photography by Don Lemieux
January, 2016
The following photographs were taken by parishioner Don Lemieux at the Hispanic Mass on December 12, 2015, honoring the Patroness of the Americas, Our Lady the Virgin of Guadalupe.
On December 9, and again on December 12, 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to an Aztec native named Juan Diego. (His name given at birth was Cuauhtlatoazin; it was changed when he was among the first natives to be baptized in Mexico.) During their encounter, she asked for a church to be built in her honor. When Juan Diego went to the bishop to relay this request, the bishop asked for some concrete sign of the apparition. When Juan Diego reported this to the Virgin, she told him to collect some roses growing nearby (even though it was December) and take them to the bishop. He did so and when he dropped the rose petals before the bishop the Virgin’s likeness appeared on his cloak. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of Mexico as well as of the entire Americas. Her feast day is December 12.
Arriving parishioners prepare the gifts to present before the altar.
Father Cedric Wilson and altar servers.
Musicians and choir add to the spirit and solemnity of the Mass.
The processors assemble as the Mass is about to begin.
Our Lady of Guadalupe before the procession.
Juan Diego enters with the rose petals for the bishop.
The statue of Our Lady, decorated with red roses, is brought into the church during the procession.
A band of mariachis plays before the sanctuary.
Juan Diego and the mariachis lead the recession to the parish hall to continue the celebration.
The celebration continues with the mariachis, Father Wilson and a dancer.
