Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
PHOTO: Last year’s Our Lady of Guadalupe procession at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Lewiston. (Submitted photo)
LEWISTON – Special celebrations for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be held Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, 122 Ash St.
The celebration, which is open to all, will begin with the praying of the Rosary at 11:30 a.m., followed by a bilingual Mass at 12:15 a.m., celebrated by Bishop Robert Deeley. The Mass will feature a procession with a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, flowers and candles.
A special gathering with dances, food, and fun family activities will be held in the hall of the Basilica following the Mass.
Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the “Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas” by Pope Pius XII in the 1940s, to celebrate the legend that, in 1531, the apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian, in the hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City. The apparition asked Juan Diego to tell the bishop of Mexico City to build a church on the hill to assist in the conversion of the nation and to be a source of consolation for those in need. Roses appeared on the hill in the middle of the winter and were arranged by Our Lady on Juan Diego’s tilma, or cloak. A miraculous image of Our Lady also imprinted itself on the tilma. When he observed the tilma, the bishop 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.
A celebration will also be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at St. Michael Church, 51 Elm St., in Cherryfield, in Washington County.
A final celebration will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Sacred Heart Church, 65 Mellen St., in Portland. A 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish, will include a procession with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
