Millions prepare to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Almost 500 years ago as of Saturday, as the Catholic chronicle goes, roses fell to the ground when Juan Diego opened his cloak, which was imprinted with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Virgin had appeared to Diego several times before in the previous three days and had sent him to the bishop of Mexico to ask that a chapel be built on the place of her apparitions, the hill of Tepeyac. But the bishop would not approve the construction until Dec. 12, 1531 when Diego revealed to him the Virgin of Guadalupe’s magnificent picture on his tilma, a type of cloak. The bishop, it has been claimed, sank to his knees.
Today, millions in Mexico and throughout the Americas are preparing to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And many have already begun the pilgrimage to the Basílica of Guadalupe in Mexico City — located on the hill of Tepeyac — where they will pray in her honor until midnight.
"She is the saint who sits at the right hand of God, who can intercede for us in our hour of suffering," said Tony Zavaleta, vice president for external affairs at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
Known as la Virgin Morena, or la Morenita, the Virgin’s presence in the Rio Grande Valley is just as ubiquitous as in other parts of Mexico and Latin America. And the festivities for Dec. 12, one of the most important feast days in the Mexican calendar, will begin today.
At the Old City Cemetery an art and photography exhibition will debut at 6 p.m. to celebrate the religious icon’s place in the city. Hosted by the Brownsville Historical Association, the showcase features local artists and includes stained glass, paintings and even jewelry. It will run until Jan. 23 and most of the items on display will be on sale.
The collection is "about the intimate connection each artist has with the Virgin," said Rhiannon Cizon, programs coordinator for the Brownsville Historical Association.
"She means something to everyone and everyone sees her differently," Cizon said. "She is so fiercely protected. She is the Virgin of the people."
Downtown, a procession in her honor also will begin at 6 p.m. today at the parking lot of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral on Jefferson Street. Participants will walk from the cathedral to the parish grounds of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where a Solemn Mass will be celebrated at 7 p.m. and followed by a Serenata program.
"A lot of us have a tremendous love for our Lady of Guadalupe," said Deacon Felipe Trevino, who serves five parishes in the Archdiocese of Brownsville. "She is a spiritual mother."
For Zavaleta, who was born with a birth defect, that could not be more true. His parents did not have enough money to pay for his surgery. They prayed to the Virgin to intercede with her son, Jesus Christ, for a miracle, he said.
"I was able to receive a surgery," said Zavaleta, who has made the pilgrimage to Mexico to give the Virgin thanks. "She played a role in my personal life."
