Breckenridge Texan

Members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Breckenridge celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Thursday, Dec. 12, with a procession from the 7-11 on West Walker Street to the church on South Miller Street.

The procession included dancers in colorful folk costumes, musicians and others carrying images of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A band provided music for the procession on Thursday evening. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The celebration honors the story of Juan Diego, a poor indigenous farmer living in an area that now is near Mexico City. According to the story cited by many sources, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego four times in 1531, giving him a message to take to the archbishop that a church should be built on the Hill of Tepeyac. When the bishop didn’t believe Juan Diego, the Virgin Mary sent him to pick flowers on the hilltop. He found roses blooming in December, wrapped them in his tilma, a cloak made from cactus fibers, and took them to the Bishop. Upon seeing the Bishop, Juan Diego opened his cloak and the flowers fell out, revealing an image of the Virgin Mary on the fabric.

While Juan Diego was getting the flowers, the Virgin Mary also appeared to his sick uncle, Juan Bernadino, healed him and told him that she wanted to be known as Santa Maria de Guadalupe. Today, she is known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Juan Diego’s cloak is enshrined in a church near the hill, according to the various sources.

Many Catholics throughout the Americas celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe every Dec. 12. Our Lady of Guadalupe is known as the Patron Saint of Mexico and the Americas.

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe procession down West Walker Street featured dancers in colorful folk costumes. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, above and in the top photo, were carried along the route of the procession down West Walker Street on Thursday, Dec. 12. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)