Young matachines prep for Dec. 9 Our Lady of Guadalupe procession
November 27, 2018
HOUSTON — Dressed in traditional colorful costumes, children from Holy Ghost Catholic Church are among Aztec dancers preparing for the Virgen de Guadalupe procession set for Sunday, Dec. 9 in downtown Houston.
The procession starts at 9 a.m. at the Downtown Chancery, located at 1700 San Jacinto St., and moves through several downtown Houston streets, ending at the George R. Brown Convention Center, located at 1001 Avenida de las Americas by the Toyota Center, with a noon Mass. Mass will be celebrated on the first floor in Exhibit Hall B.
Scores of matachines, or indigenous folk dance troupes, mariachis and other singers, as well as hundreds of families will participate in the procession and Mass.
Annual Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration and Mass Dec. 9
9 a.m. - Procession
12 p.m. - Mass
Procession starts at Downtown Chancery - 1700 San Jacinto St.
Mass at George R. Brown Convention Center - Exhibit Hall B, 1st Floor
The annual event, which is celebrating its 46th anniversary, is sponsored by the Archdiocesan Association of Our Lady of Guadalupe and includes singers, traditional dances and rosary.
The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrated Dec. 12, commemorates the Virgin Mary in her appearance before St. Juan Diego in a vision in 1531. According to tradition, Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Christianity, on Dec. 9 and again on Dec. 12, 1531.
She requested a shrine to her be built on the spot where she appeared, Tepeyac Hill, now in Mexico City. In her second appearance to Juan Diego, she told him to collect roses, which were not native to Mexico, to show to the bishop as a sign. In an audience with the bishop, Juan Diego opened his cloak, letting dozens of roses fall to the floor, revealing the image of Mary imprinted on the inside of the cloak, now venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe.
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