Annual Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration evangelizes, brings cultures together

PHOENIX (OSV News) -- Mark Mason is not Catholic, but the mix of cultural and religious heritage around Our Lady of Guadalupe drew him to the Diocese of Phoenix's Honor Your Mother celebration Dec. 7.

The annual celebration in Phoenix includes music and an outdoor Mass on the street between St. Mary's Basilica and the Phoenix Convention Center to honor the Virgin Mary, who is the diocese's patroness under this title, typically on the Saturday before the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Following the bilingual liturgy, parishes and ministries from throughout the diocese process with floats, matachines, other dancers, music and many more displays of love for the Blessed Mother.

Mason had come to Phoenix from Seattle to watch his Seahawks play against their NFL rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, the next day. An evangelical Christian, Mason saw the procession outside his hotel and decided to walk with the group back to the basilica.

"It seems pretty cool that people are celebrating both their Indigenous heritage and their Catholic heritage, both at the same time," Mason said. He added he'd like to learn more about the connections.

Father Andres Arango highlighted those connections in his homily. He noted that Our Lady of Guadalupe's apparition served as a bridge between two cultures.

"No more Native people or European people. It was the opportunity for reconciliation. It was the opportunity to create a new style of life," Father Arango said. "For this reason, she became the patroness of America."

Our Lady of Guadalupe serves as an inspiration for communion, mission and faithfulness, he said.

"Where are we going and what God is asking from us is holiness. Holiness doesn't mean to be perfect; (it) doesn't mean to get the power to make miracles. It only means to be people of love," Father Arango said. "Love always will be the inspiration to provide ... dignity to every person and to provide the right place to every brother and sister that is close to us, the person that is homeless, the person that is sick, the person who is at the hospital, the person who has been discriminated (against)."

The day's celebration of La Guadalupana also coincided with the rededication of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, five years after it was devastated by a fire. During the Mass, the bells of St. Mary's Basilica joined with those of churches around the world in ringing in solidarity with the mother church of France.

Similarly, St. William Parish in Cashion, Arizona, where Father Arango also serves as pastor, had also been destroyed by a fire earlier this year. In Mary, he said, God saw a heart full of love. "Am I not your mother?" he added, recalling the words she spoke to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin in 1531.

"St. William was destroyed by the fire. But at the end, one tiny chapel is holding services for the people of St. William. The name of the tiny chapel is called Guadalupe," Father Arango said.

For the fourth year in a row, Jessica Carrillo danced in the procession with her troupe, "Danza la Morenita del Tepeyac" from St. Anthony Parish in Phoenix. In preparation for the procession, the troupe practiced for several hours two to three times a week. Dancing allows Carrillo to express her love for Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"I just love dancing, and it's my way of showing how much I love her," Carrillo said. "I may not be the best at praying, but this is my way to show her the love and care for her."

This year's celebration comes as Phoenix Bishop John P. Dolan launched TILMA, a seven-year pastoral plan for evangelization leading up to the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe's apparitions. Armando Ruiz, who's been helping organize the Honor Your Mother celebration since its first one 19 years ago, said the increased participation reveals the local Latino community's response to Bishop Dolan's call.

"One of the points is that he asked the Latino community -- the Mexican community -- to step up in its leadership, step up in its stewardship," Ruiz said. "It's a powerful message, powerful testimony: the participation of the people here. You can just see people are happy. This is a fiesta."

The Blessed Mother doesn't just unite European and Indigenous cultures, but African cultures as well. Elvis Tata, a member of the Missionaries of Mary lay association, carried the flag of his native Cameroon in the procession.

"I'm proud to let the world see that I come from Cameroon and to let the world know that though we are diverse in the world, we are united in God. I'm proudly using my culture to praise God," Tata said. "Our Lady of Guadalupe is a golden opportunity because through her, she can intercede for me to Jesus Christ who is my Savior."

Father Emmanuel Galvez, a member of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Anthony parishes in Phoenix, credits Our Lady of Guadalupe for a continual conversion among his primarily Hispanic parishioners. He said many are now getting married in the church and receiving holy Communion.

"There are so many Mexican saints ... that to me are like the stars of the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the flowers and what is in her cloak," he said. "Our lives bring this beauty to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We renew it every year with new people committed to live the life of holiness. Our Lady of Guadalupe is our best example to evangelize the culture."