The Hispanic community of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Worthington celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Sunday with a special Mass and festival. The celebration included a meal, performances by the local Aztec Dancers group and music by a Mariachi band from Sioux City, Iowa.
Dedicated to Jesus’ mother, Mary, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe or Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe celebrates the belief that a man, Juan Diego, encountered the Virgin Mary, Mexico’s patron saint, several times over the course of several days in December 1531 in Mexico City. Mary instructed him to visit his bishop and ask that a temple be built on the site of her appearance, so she would have a place to hear petitions and heal the suffering of the Mexican people. After her image miraculously appeared on Juan Diego’s cloak, he was able to convince the bishop and was successful in this mission.
On October 12, 1945, Pope Pius XII, decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be “Patroness of all the Americas.” Her feast day is Dec. 12.
