The annual Mass in honor of Christ of Esquipulas is scheduled for 2 p.m., Sunday January 7 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Christ of Esquipulas (also called Lord of Esquipulas) is a Guatemalan devotional tradition. 

Cardenal Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, will serve as principal celebrant, and he will deliver the homily.          

The following Sunday, January 14, the annual Mass in honor of Our Lady of Altagracia is set for 2 p.m., also at the cathedral. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of the Archdiocese of New York will be the principal celebrant and the homilist. Our Lady of Altagracia is the protectress of the Dominican Republic, the bishop’s ancestral nation.   

Christ of Esquipulas                 

“This is very important, and we are very thankful – it has been 19 years that we have had this annual Mass, Guatemalans showing their faith,” Nineth Pinzon, president of the New York archdiocesan Christ of Esquipulas Committee, told The Good Newsroom in a December 29 phone interview, noting her gratitude to Cardinal Ramazzini for agreeing to celebrate the Esquipulas Mass this year and in years past. “We are very grateful to him; he is our brother and friend.”          

Pinzon noted that the founder of the annual Esquipulas Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in conjunction with the archdiocese, was Rosa María Mérida de Mora, when De Mora was consul general of Guatemala in New York. De Mora is now consul general of Guatemala in Miami.

The city of Esquipulas is located in southeast Guatemala. It is known for its large colonial church (the Basilica of Esquipulas), a popular pilgrimage center in Central America built in the 18th century to house the Black Christ figure of Jesus on the cross. The figure was commissioned by the Spanish conquistadors and first placed in a local church in 1595. The image was carved from dark wood in 1594, measuring around five feet tall.

The main religious processions occur on January 15 and during Holy Week. Esquipulas is approximately 80 miles east of Guatemala City, with an elevation of over 3,000 feet. The basilica dominates the horizon.

Our Lady of Altagracia

“This is a celebration of our culture, together with Our Lady of Altagracia. At [St. Patrick’s] cathedral during the Mass, we feel as if we’re in our country at the [Altagracia] basilica there – with the Altagracia image of Our Lady, the music, the prayers, and the traditional dress – and our flag. All these are distinctive symbols of our country, the Dominican Republic. It is a beautiful day for us,” Ana Ozuna, a lead member and former president of the New York archdiocesan Our Lady of Altagracia Committee, said.

Our Lady of Altagracia is a portrait of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity scene painted circa 1500 and kept in the Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of Altagracia in the city of Higüey, Dominican Republic. Her feast day is January 21.   

The original portrait was crowned twice: on August 15, 1922, during the pontificate of Pius XI; and by then-Pope John Paul II (now St. John Paul II), who personally crowned the portrait with a golden silver tiara during his visit to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on January 25, 1979. 

For a full list of Hispanic Masses at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, visit the website of the Office of Hispanic Ministry.