A little girl smiles in her traditional clothing in honor of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Sts. Joseph and Paul Parish in Owensboro, during the evening of Dec. 11, 2022 – the eve of the feast day. COURTESY OF ASHLEY WILKERSON
Guadalupe celebrations across the diocese
BY WKC STAFF
During the evening of Dec. 11, 2022 and through midnight into Dec. 12, Hispanic and Latino families across the Diocese of Owensboro gathered in parishes for festivities in honor of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The feast day celebrates the 1531 apparition of Our Lady to a lay catechist, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatohuac, on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico, which later led to the conversion of somewhere between 6 and 9 million people.
Deacon Chris Gutiérrez, the director of the Diocese of Owensboro’s Office of Hispanic/Latino Ministry, said this year was particularly significant “because it marks 491 years since the apparitions to St. Juan Diego, which also kicks off an ‘intercontinental novena’ towards major celebrations for the 500 years in 2031 and a major commemoration in 2033 for the 2,000 years since our redemption,” referencing Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is seen decorated with plants and flowers at St. Michael Parish in Sebree. COURTESY OF ST. MICHAEL PARISH
Children at St. Joseph Parish in Mayfield perform a retelling of the story of the 1531 apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatohuac. Depicted here is when Bishop Juan de Zumarraga is amazed to see an image of Our Lady miraculously appear on Juan Diego’s tilma. COURTESY OF ST. JOSEPH PARISH
Parishioners of St. Mary Parish in Franklin stand around a decorated statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as a mural showing St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatohuac kneeling before her in the desert. COURTESY OF ST. MARY PARISH
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is seen decorated with roses and the colors of the Mexican flag at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Guthrie. COURTESY OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PARISH
Originally printed in the January 2023 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
