Festive celebration for Our Lady of Guadalupe set for downtown Houston, Dec. 9
December 7, 2018
Media Advisory
For immediate release
WHAT: Procession, festivities and Mass celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
WHEN: Sunday, December 9, 2018
Procession 9 a.m., Mass 12 p.m.
WHERE: Procession starts at the Archdiocese’s Chancery, 1700 San Jacinto, Houston and concludes at George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas
CONTACT: Jo Ann Zuniga, Communications, jzuniga@archgh.org, 713-652-8213 (office), 713-503-8035 (cell)
Festive celebration for Our Lady of Guadalupe set for downtown Houston, Dec. 9
HOUSTON — Colorfully costumed dancers and music highlight the annual Archdiocesan Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe set for Sunday, Dec. 9 in downtown Houston.
Up to 1,000 Danzantes and Matachines (indigenous folk dancers), wearing elaborate headpieces and traditional Aztec-style dress, will process from 1700 San Jacinto St. to the George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center.
The event begins in front of the Chancery with a blessing of the procession at 9 a.m. Sunday by Father Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, Vicar for Clergy and Secretariat Director for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services for the Archdiocese.
Then the dancing starts swirling to the drum beat as the procession continues toward the convention center. Mass will be celebrated at noon on the first floor, Exhibit Hall B.
“It is a special day where we join together to honor our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and give thanks for the blessings we have received on this day that is so meaningful for our Church,” said Lazaro Contreras, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese.
“This celebration joins us in the hope of Our Lady of Guadalupe... It is she who says ‘Am I not here, who is your mother?’” Contreras said. “We rejoice and unite as one Church, one family with the immense love and divine protection of our Blessed Mother.”
The annual event, sponsored by the Archdiocesan Guadalupana Association, commemorates the official Church feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.
Association president Priscella Marquez said, “This is a magnificent celebration where people of all ages show their devotion to our Lady of Guadalupe, which has continued for the past 46 years in our Hispanic/Houston community.”
Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego
In 1531, on a hill near a rural village just outside of Mexico City, the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, appeared to a humble peasant named Juan Diego, now St. Juan Diego.
Surrounded by light and speaking in his indigenous tongue of Nahuatl, Our Lady told Juan Diego she wanted a church built to manifest her Son’s love and hear the petitions of the faithful. To help him in his mission, she gave him a sign, imprinting her beautiful image on his cloak. From it would flow miracles. The news spread quickly throughout Mexico, and in the following years, millions would convert to Catholicism.
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The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston serves 1.7 million Catholics in 10 counties.
It is the largest Roman Catholic diocese in Texas and the 5th largest in the United States.