Diocese to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Intermountain Catholic

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The Cathedral of the Madeleine will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 11 with a procession, Mass and las Mañanitas. IC archive photo

SALT LAKE CITY – In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.

Now, celebrations all over the Diocese of Salt Lake City will mark the 480th anniversary of ‘la Virgen de Guadalupe.’ At the Cathedral of the Madeleine the celebration will start Sunday, Dec. 11 at 9:30 p.m. with a procession, followed by Mass at 11 p.m. Bishop John C. Wester will be the main celebrant. At midnight will be ‘las Mañanitas’ (traditional Mexican music) in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

"Every year I come and honor our Mother," said María Inés Balladares, a parishioner of the Cathedral, adding that she loves the mariachi music of las Mañanitas because it reminds her "where she came from."

At St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City on Dec. 12. at 6 a.m. the traditional ‘Mañanitas’ will be sung, followed by Mass at 7 a.m. In the afternoon they will have a gathering at the church’s social hall.

Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Kearns will have a replica of the Virgen visiting Dec. 10-11. This image contains dust from Tepeyac, where the Virgin appeared. On Dec. 11 at 1 p.m., a procession in her honor will start at Kearns Junior High School.

When the ‘Lady of Heaven’ appeared to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac, she identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. She requested that a church to be built on the site of her appearance. St. Juan Diego relayed her wish to the local bishop, who asked for a sign. Mother Mary’s response was to send Juan Diego to the top of the hill to gather roses (which, in December, should not have been in bloom) for the bishop. She also left an image of herself imprinted on his cloak. Even 480 years later that image shows no sign of decay and defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

The Lady’s message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the "Nican Mopohua," a 16th-century document written in the native Nahuatl language.

An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Each year 18 million to 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, making it one of Catholicism’s most visited sanctuaries.

Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her sanctuary four times, including on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as pope in 1979. In 1999, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, Pope John Paul II declared the date of Dec. 12 as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.

"She is our Mother and she is always protecting and caring for us so we all should celebrate with her this special day," said Fernando Quiñonez, a parishioner of Saint Francis Xavier who is excited about the image coming this year; he and his family are planning to join the procession.