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LEWISTON — Prince of Peace Parish will host a free special celebration commemorating the Feast Day of Our Lady Guadalupe at noon Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, 122 Ash St.
“The Latino community venerates her in a special way, especially as she is the Patroness of Mexico,” said the Rev. Michael Sevigny, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Portland. “This is an effort to unite the Latino community from all over the state and get to know one another. We are expecting people from all over Maine and hope this is the first of a new annual tradition.”
The bilingual Mass will feature a procession with a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, flowers and candles. A special gathering with a dance troupe performing traditional Mexican dances, food family activities will be held in the hall of the basilica following the Mass. All are welcome.
Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the “Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas” by Pope Pius XII in the 1940s. The legend goes that in 1531, the apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian, in the hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City. Diego said she asked him to tell the bishop of Mexico City to build a church on the hill to assist in converting the nation and as a source of consolation for those in need. Catholics believe roses appeared on the hill in the middle of the winter and were arranged on Diego’s cloak, along with an image of Mary. When the bishop saw the cloak, he fell to his knees and believed the message.
Each year, thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City for the feast day, which is Dec. 12.
