Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Every year, on December 12th, the Church celebrates the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
This day commemorates the Virgin Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico. She had appeared as a pregnant Aztec woman before Juan Diego asking him to request the local bishop to build a temple in her honor where she could receive and console her suffering children. Juan Diego relayed the story to the bishop, who wanted a sign of her apparitions to proceed with the request. Juan Diego returned to the hill of Tepeyac and Our Lady had him gather roses in his tilma (outer garment.) When he returned to the bishop, he opened the tilma and when he dropped the roses before the bishop, the inside of his tilma had the image of our Lady of Guadalupe.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a powerful representation of faith, strength, and protection. She is the one who supports us, helps us, and protects us. She serves as a mother figure- forgiving and all-loving. Nonetheless, Our Lady symbolizes the consolation of the poor and powerless, she is sent to us during hardships and appears before us to remind us during these hard times to have no fear.
There are several traditional customs for her feast day. Often parishioners prepare special alters for Our Lady, special Masses are held, and prayers are said in her honor. She is often celebrated through the retelling of her apparition, and tributes in the forms of testimonies, poems, dances, songs, parades, and processions. These events are often followed by community receptions that feature food, music, and Aztec-style dances.
As we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, we are reminded that we share the same vocation as our Lady and Juan Diego, to bring Jesus Christ into this world and serving as missionaries and messengers of hope in this seemingly hopeless world.
Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
Below: Pastor Fr. Patrick O'Connor, OSFS, and parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church High Point, NC carried out special traditions to celebrate the feast day.
