MISSIONARY IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE TOURS
December 1, 2014  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

MISSIONARY IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE TOURS PARISHES BEFORE DECEMBER 7 PROCESSION IN EAST LA

Celebrations to honor the Virgin include Dec. 4-5 play by Latino Theater Company, annual vigil (Dec. 11) and Midnight Mass (Dec. 12) at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

 

Parishioners throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles continue venerating the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego at local parishes, where the images have been in pilgrimage since October, in preparation for the December 7 Procession and Mass in East Los Angeles.

“These beautiful celebrations remind us that we all have a Mother who loves us in heaven. The same Mother that Jesus had on earth,” said Archbishop Gomez. “So we are gathering as the family of God to ask the Virgin of Guadalupe to watch over us and guide in our daily lives as we try to spread the love of Jesus in our society.”

The December celebrations to honor the Virgin also include the play in Spanish “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” presented by the Latino Theater Company on Dec. 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels (555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012). The play, now in its 11th year at the Cathedral, features renowned opera singer Suzanna Guzman as the Virgin (Dec. 4), actress Esperanza America (Virgin, Dec. 5), and Sal Lopez, in the role of Juan Diego. They will be joined by more than 100 actors, singers and dancers, including local children and seniors.

The play was adapted for the stage by founding company member and resident playwright Evelina Fernandez from the mid-16th Century text The Nican Mopohua. It tells the story of how the Virgin Mary appeared on four occasions to the peasant Juan Diego in the mountains of Tepeyac, near Mexico City in 1531. Miracles attributed to her intercession included the blooming of roses during a time of frost, and the recovery of Juan’s uncle from the deadly plague. Juan’s devotion to the Virgin was a catalyst for a spiritual renewal in the area.

The production is directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela, original music composed and performed by Alfredo Lopez Mondragon, with original indigenous music composed and performed by Martin Espino, and choreography by Urbanie Lucero. General admission is FREE to the public and reserved seating is available for $35. Tickets are available online at www.thelatc.org or at (866) 811-4111.

On December 7, decorated floats and indigenous dancers will escort the “Peregrina” image at the 83rd Procession to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the oldest religious procession in Los Angeles, starting at 11 a.m. at the corner of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Ford Boulevard in East Los Angeles.

Following the procession, Archbishop José H. Gomez, the Auxiliary Bishops of Los Angeles and participating clergy will celebrate Mass at East Los Angeles College Stadium, 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park. The Mass will feature mariachis, bandas, dances, hymns and poems typical of celebrations in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Celebrations to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe will continue with the annual celebration at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on the eve of her Feast Day, December 11, starting at 6 p.m. and culminating with a midnight Mass at 12 a.m. on December 12.

Festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with folkloric dancers on the Cathedral Plaza, followed by Aztec dancers’ tribute to the Blessed Mother, also on the Plaza. At 10 p.m., the celebration moves inside the Cathedral for a Rosary prayer led by a group of celebrities. At 11 p.m. there will be a mariachi performance and special guest singers (to be announced) will serenade the Virgin and sing “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday song to honor the Virgin on her Feast Day.

The celebrations recalls the miraculous apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac, Mexico in December 1531, when she left her image on his tilma or cloak. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is home to the only relic in the United States of the tilma of St. Juan Diego, given to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1941 as a gift from the Archbishop of Mexico City in appreciation and friendship after Los Angeles Archbishop John J. Cantwell led a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Given the natural agave fibers used to make the tilma, experts say it is nothing short of miraculous that the relic at the Cathedral in Los Angeles, and the rest of the tilma in Mexico City, have survived for almost five centuries.

 

For more information on the December 7 Procession and Mass please visit archla.org/guadalupe and calendar on media.la-archdiocese.org/.

NOTE: Below is the schedule and contact information of the pilgrimage of the images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego, from Nov. 24-Dec. 12.

 

 

12/1/14 to 12/4/2014 St. Elizabeth Church Parish Office santaisabelrectory@sbcglobal.net Monday, Dec. 1
(Iglesia Santa Isabel) (323) 268-4065 6:00pm – Welcome
918 South Soto Street Tuesday, Dec. 2
Los Angeles, CA 90023 8:00am and 7:00pm – Mass
(323) 268-4065 Wednesday, Dec. 3
8:00am and 7:00pm – Mass
Thursday, Dec. 4
5:00pm – Farewell
12/5/14 to 12/6/14  St. Andrew Church Tomas Pacheco (626) 793-4674 Friday, Dec. 5  
140 Chestnut St. (626) 372-0737 5:00pm – Welcome
Pasadena, CA 91103-4456 6:30pm – Procession with Matachines on surrounding streets.
(626) 792-4183
7:00pm – Mass with Aztec Dancers
Saturday, Dec. 6
12:30pm – Farewell
 
12/7/2014 83rd Guadalupe Procession and Mass                               Procession – starts at corner of Cesar Chavez & 710 Freeway   Mass  East LA College Stadium 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave.     Monterey Park, 91754 Monica Valencia –Media Relations, Archdiocese of Los Angeles (310) 714-0503 Sunday, Dec. 7                               11:00 am – Procession at corner of Cesar Chavez & 710 Freeway                                              1:30pm-4:00pm – Mass –  East L.A. College Stadium
Doris Benavides – Media Relations, Archdiocese of Los Angeles (310) 221-2948