Cardinal Timothy Dolan will serve as principal celebrant at the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday, December 12, for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. Multiple days of Masses, prayer services, and other gatherings will lead up to the celebration of the feast day.

Father Luis Saldaña, STL, will deliver the homily. He is Mexican-born and the director of spiritual formation at St. Joseph’s Seminary. Here are key events that will lead up to the feast day:       

• Monday, December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation. Masses will be celebrated at parishes throughout the archdiocese.  

• Tuesday, December 9, Feast of St. Juan Diego, Mass at 6 p.m. at Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard (328 W 14th Street).   

• Thursday, December 11, at 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 p.m. On the eve of the feast, Masses will be celebrated at the Guadalupe Shrine.   

• Thursday, December 11, 7 p.m. The “Traditional Mañanitas,” a lively, reverent event that includes mariachi and traditional Mexican dance, will take place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

• Friday, December 12, 8 a.m., the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe begins its procession, usually up 8th Avenue, then east on West 50th Street to the cathedral, with hundreds of followers accompanying it (Route based on police instructions).    

• Friday, December 12, 10 a.m. The procession concludes and the faithful fill St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the Mass celebration.  

• Friday, December 12, a 6 p.m. Mass will be celebrated for volunteers at the Guadalupe Shrine.  

• Friday, December 12, 10 a.m. Mass, St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Newburgh, followed by a rosary procession through the streets of Newburgh and back to the church.  

“We celebrate over 20 Masses for different Hispanic traditions at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral throughout the year. The upcoming Our Lady of Guadalupe is our largest and one of our most joy-filled occasions to celebrate with all the parishioners and visitors who join us that day. Everyone is welcome,” the archdiocese noted.  

Patroness of the Americas 

The Church asserts that the Virgin Mary is the patroness “of Mexico, the United States, and all of the Americas, as well as the protector of unborn children.” In 1531, Mary appeared in a vision to the peasant Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City and instructed him to ask the bishop to build a church on that spot. But the bishop demanded a sign, so Our Lady had Juan gather flowers in his cloak in December to take to the bishop. When Juan opened his cloak, the colorful image of Guadalupe was emblazoned on the cactus cloth. That icon is preserved in the most famous shrine in the Western Hemisphere (Mexico City) and Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to inspire poor and oppressed people worldwide.  

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., has noted that St. Juan Diego “was one of the first indigenous people in the New World to embrace Catholicism. As Pope John Paul II said at Juan Diego’s canonization, ‘In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his indigenous identity, Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new humanity, in which all are called to be children of God. Thus, he facilitated the fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst for the new Mexican identity, closely united to Our Lady of Guadalupe.’” 

The Good Newsroom Coverage of Events 

The Good Newsroom has been publishing educational stories in preparation for the Mass celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A dedicated website landing page has been set up so that stories are easily accessible. The 10 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on December 12 will be livestreamed on thegoodnewsroom.org.