Every year on December 12, Catholic believers in the United States and Mexico celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Worshipers fill churches and cathedrals to take part in religious celebrations in honor of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in downtown Los Angeles offers various mass services and celebrations throughout the day.
KCAL News
This year’s gathering will include native dancers, a mariachi performance and other live events. Revelers typically gather the night before or early in the morning for the event and sing “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional birthday song.
People place flowers near photos of the Virgin Mary and light candles to offer prayers to her. Our Lady of Guadalupe plays an important role for many Mexican people and represents hope and guidance.
According to the Catholic Church, the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe begins with her appearance before Saint Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531, where she asked to have a church built in her name. When Juan Diego told the local bishop that Mary had appeared, he was not believed.
The story continues with Juan Diego returning to Mary to tell her about the bishop’s disbelief. She placed roses in his cloak, or Tilmaand instructed him to go back to the bishop and give him the flowers. When Juan Diego opened his tilma, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared.
At the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has on display a relic believed to be a piece of the tilma donated by the Archbishop of Mexico in the 1940s.
