MAÑANITAS CELEBRATION HONORING OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AT CATHEDRAL TO BE COMMEMORATED DEC. 11 IN PERSON AFTER PANDEMIC HIATUS
December 7, 2021  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels will host its annual “Mañanitas” musical tribute and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe in-person on Saturday, December 11, 2021 after celebrating virtually last year amid increased COVID-19-related public safety measures.

The annual celebration will begin at 6 p.m. with indigenous dancers and free seasonal treats on the Cathedral Plaza, and veneration of the relic of the tilma of St. Juan Diego, on which the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared 490 years ago. The Cathedral is home to the only relic of the tilma outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

“This is a historic year. We will celebrate the 490th anniversary of the Virgin’s apparition to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac during this holy jubilee year commemorating the forming of our great family of God, the Catholic Church of Los Angeles, 250 years ago,” said Archbishop Gomez. “It is important to remember that Our Blessed Mother is the original missionary. She is the first to go out into the world and speak to someone else about the joy of meeting her Lord and Savior.”

At 10 p.m., the celebration continues inside the Cathedral with a special Rosary, followed by a performance by Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas. The musical tribute, or serenata, begins at 11 p.m., with guest singers invited to serenade the Virgin and sing “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday song to honor the Virgin on her Feast Day. The program will be in Spanish and the festivities will culminate with midnight Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gomez.

As part of this year’s celebration, the Cathedral will once again light up the exterior walls of the Cathedral on the Plaza to bring the full story of the six apparitions to life for the faithful. The large-scale projections will illuminate the Cathedral Plaza each evening from sundown until 8 p.m., beginning on December 9 at 5:30 p.m., the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego, until the evening of December 12, the Feast Day Our Lady of Guadalupe. The full presentation of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe will take place every half hour and include music found on the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe by Fernando Ojeda. The projections are based on the paintings of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe by artist Lalo Garcia and animated and projected by Watermark Event Management.

This year’s projected images will also feature a tribute to the special Forward in Mission Jubilee Year commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mission San Gabriel, the birthplace of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, showing how Our Lady of Guadalupe has kept the community of faith in the Archdiocese under the mantel of her protection from our beginnings to present day.

The celebration on December 11 will be live streamed on Cathedral’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/olacathedral). For more information, please visit www.olacathedral.org/guadalupe. The celebration will also be broadcasted live on EWTN and EWTN Español, Guadalupe Radio and El Sembrador.

This special celebration honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe is presented thanks to the support of the Catholic Cemeteries and Mortuaries of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the C3-Catholic Communication Collaboration and Vallarta Supermarkets.

NOTE: LA County Health Department safety restrictions will be followed at the event. All attendees are required to wear facial masks, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Restrictions may change prior to the event.

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