SAN DIEGO — Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido said the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December “invites us to open the doors of our hearts to experience the maternal tenderness of Mary, who tells us, like she did St. Juan Diego, ‘Am I not here, who am your mother?”
Parishes will celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe with special Masses, culminating on her feast day, Dec. 12.
The diocese will once more celebrate her with a procession and Mass on Sunday, Dec. 7, a tradition of more than 50 years.
It all begins at 11 a.m. with a joyful procession of brightly decorated theme cars, folkloric dancers, and groups from parishes and “movimientos,” or Hispanic ecclesial organizations.
The procession will begin at the Morley Field Sports Complex, at Upas and Jacaranda streets, in the North Park neighborhood. Participants will wend their way through residential streets, ending about 1.3 miles later at St. Augustine High School.
Bishop Pulido will celebrate the Mass at the school’s gym at 1 p.m., accompanied by Bishop Michael Pham and Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano.
The event is organized by the Confederación Guadalupana, with the diocese’s Hispanic Commission. An outdoor fiesta follows the Mass, offering traditional Mexican fare and music.
Our Lady of Guadalupe holds profound importance, particularly for faithful from Latin America. Her apparition in 1531 to St. Juan Diego in Tepeyac Hill, near what is now Mexico City, energized the spread of Christianity across the Americas.
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s words have a greater significance today, Bishop Pulido said.
“As the People of God, we are living in uncertain times, with many facing the possibility of indiscriminate deportation.
“It’s precisely in this context that Our Lady of Guadalupe’s words echo more powerfully: ‘Am I not here, who am your mother? Are you not under my care?’ Her voice comforts us and gives us the hope and courage to keep moving forward.”
He invited the entire Catholic community to participate in the procession and Mass, renewing their trust in God through his mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
