The Midnight Arrival of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Midnight Arrival of Our Lady of Guadalupe
By Leticia Velasquez
March 12, 2010
Late Friday evening December 11th, in the bitter cold, a hundred parishioners of Sagrado Corazon in Windham processed through the streets of Willimantic in honor of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Led by a large lighted sign which portrayed Our Lady and her Basilica in Mexico City, the faithful carried statues of Our Lady and bouquets of roses as they sang, “Ven con nosotros a caminar, Santa Maria ven.” Which means, “Come and walk with us, Holy Mary”. Sisters of Charity Mary Jude, and Gabriela, led the singing alternating with decades of the rosary. Doors and windows opened as curious onlookers along the route of the procession were drawn into the spirit of prayer which emanated from the procession.
The midnight arrival of Our Lady’s image at Sagrado Corzaon in Windham was celebrated by a display of fireworks. Fr. Pablo Murdock greeted the crowd at the door of the church, and the Mariachis struck up the traditional “Mananitas Tapatitas”, a morning serenade in honor of Our Lady, “How beautiful is the morning when I come to greet you. . . We salute you, Guadalupana” (Our Lady of Guadalupe). Bishop Michael Cote awaited the procession which filled the tiny church with color and song. He greeted the crowd who had come to honor the Mother of God in Spanish. A skit re-enacting the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego taught the origins of this beloved devotion. Sister Mary Jude, SCMC, Director of the Hispanic Apostolate gave a short talk on the apparitions and then petitions were offered for Our Lady’s intercession.
Parishioners brought up their bouquets of roses to show their love for their Heavenly Mother, who is Mother of all the Americas, since when she appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, there were no borders between nations. Six million Native Americans converted after the apparitions, beginning the evangelization of the New World. Our Lady is also patroness of the unborn, because, in her miraculous image on the Tilma she is expecting baby Jesus. Many expectant and new mothers offered special prayers before her image, dressing their babies with replicas of the Tilma of St. Juan Diego.
The final song of the prayer service was “Goodbye, Queen of Heaven” and the mariachis joined the procession out of the sanctuary downstairs where many hands had prepared a savory Mexican fiesta. Chicken Mole (chocolate sauce spicy with hot peppers), arroz con leche (rice pudding), and Mexican pastries were enjoyed as the mariachis played Mexican folk tunes. Sr. Mary Jude, SCMC encouraged the crowd to continue the celebration of Our Lady’s feast day at St Patrick’s Cathedral later that evening.