Many Guadalupan faithful gathered in Manhattan for the annual Las Mañanitas at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard, West 14th Street.  

The sacred vigil, conducted in Spanish and featuring rosary prayers, the Angelus, and Mariachi bands, began at 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 11, and continued overnight into the following morning and afternoon — the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is a prayer service with intermittent Mass celebrations and a long tradition at the Shrine that attracts many of its parishioners, members of other parishes in the Archdiocese of New York, and beyond.  

The annual December 12 morning procession from the Shrine to St. Patrick’s Cathedral included participants of Las Mañanitas at the Shrine. (Mañanitas comes from the word “morning,” as supplicants having prayed into the next morning). There were several Guadalupe Masses at the Shrine between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening, including the midnight liturgy.  

“Today is a very special day for me because we celebrate Las Mananitas for Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Alfonso Juarez, 39, who lives and attends Mass in Brooklyn, told The Good Newsroom onsite. “I am very moved, being here for the Virgin of Guadalupe; it is a pleasure to attend this Mass.” Born in Mexico, Juarez was at the evening Mass on Wednesday, a liturgy celebrated by the Shrine’s pastor, Father Jesus Ledezma, and attended by more than 500 people.

Also at the Wednesday evening Mass was Lucina Dominguez, Mexican-born and a longtime parishioner of the Shrine. “This is all for my faith. I have lots of faith. I grew up Catholic and will always be Catholic,” she said, noting that Guadalupe celebrations are significant occasions in her faith traditions. Dominguez, a mother and grandmother, was serving as a Mass volunteer; she said she appreciated the homily message. “It was very beautiful.”

In his homily, Father Ledezma spoke of the significance of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her apparitions to Juan Diego. He noted the importance of conversion, saying, “Many were converted after the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.” (The apparitions occurred in 1531.)

The pastor also advised the faithful to think less about material things and more about matters of the faith and their spiritual journeys, saying they should maintain “un corazón lleno de gracia (a heart full of grace).”

“We give thanks to our ancestors who taught us about the faith,” Father Ledezma said, citing the importance of cultural and generational traditions. “We must maintain our roots, our values, and our culture…It is a grace from God that we are here to celebrate this Mass. Each time we go to Mass is an encounter with the Lord.” He also spoke of the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the need for this faith tradition to be practiced more by members of the Church.

In the Prayer of the Faithful, the intentions included prayers for unity throughout the Americas. (Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of Mexico and the Americas.) At the end of Mass, the pastor thanked all who helped make the liturgy possible, including the Mariachi band, the volunteers, and the many faithful who brought flowers to adorn the sanctuary in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.