Breckenridge procession honors Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today, Dec. 12, is Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and on Saturday, Dec. 10, members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Breckenridge celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a procession down 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. After the procession, participants and others gathered at the church for mass and a celebration featuring a mariachi band, food, games and more. The celebration had originally been planned for the city park but was relocated due to Saturday’s rainy weather. Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s Photo Gallery from the procession.
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. Juan Diego became St. Juan Diego in 2002 when he was canonized by Pope John Paul II. He is knows as the Saint of Indigenous People.
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 Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church’s Our Lady of Guadalupe procession makes its way down Walker Street on Saturday morning, Dec. 10. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Saturday morning’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Procession on Walker Street by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church features dancers in colorful Mexican folk costumes. The event celebrates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in 1531. Click to see more photos from the procession. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
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