PROVIDENCE — The Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul was nearly filled to capacity for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the yearly celebration which represents an important day for both Catholics of Latin-American descent as well as Catholics in the Americas more generally, as it is a remembrance of the first apparition of Our Lady to take place in the Western Hemisphere.
The celebration was organized by Comite Diocesano Guadalupano and the Office of Hispanic Ministry. Father Jairon Olmos-Rivera celebrated the Mass, along with many priests who serve in predominantly Hispanic communities.
The Mass was accompanied by liturgical music performed in the style of traditional Mexican folk music, with the entrance procession being immediately preceded by members of the local Mexican-American community performing a dance in the style of traditional Aztec culture.
During and before Mass, those in attendance took time to venerate the large icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe which graced the sanctuary.
“We’ve been coming to this celebration for a very long time. It’s very beautiful. It’s a very beautiful celebration, and it brings the community together,” said Elsa Lopez, a parishioner of SS. John and Paul Parish in Coventry. Lopez was born in Mexico City, where she spent the first five years of her life.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin was something promoted by Elsa’s parents, especially her mother, as long as she remembers.
“I think the biggest lesson is to trust as she trusted, to love as she loved, to follow her example, to be faithful and loving Catholics. I think she’s a big inspiration for all of us,” she said.
“It reflects our culture,” said Lisette Rodriguez, a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Providence.
“It really keeps us connected with our culture and our religion as well. … I grew up both spiritually Catholic as well as culturally Catholic, and so it just keeps me more sure of my relationship with the Church and God.”
The close connection between the spiritual and the cultural was noted in the homily, which was delivered by Father Felimon Rodriguez Sixtos, C.S., of St. Bartholomew’s Parish, in Providence.
Commenting on the Gospel reading for the day, which contained the story of the Visitation, Father Sixtos noted how this story exemplifies the role of the Blessed Virgin in God’s Plan of salvation.
“[The Blessed Virgin]...put[s] herself at the service [of Elizabeth] and transmit[s] the joy that the Lord brings,” Father Sixtos preached. This is something reflected in the apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego in Guadalupe. “Mary assumes the characteristic features of our people. … She represents the humanity that was in need of her help and…appears to establish her home in the midst of the people to help them in their needs.”
“Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, came to bring us to her Son, and even today continues to show us the path of return to follow towards her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,” Father Sixtos said.
