Thousands of pilgrims filled St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Friday for a joyous celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. 

Many of those attending the Mass had already processed with an image and statue of Our Lady from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard’s Church on West 14th Street in Manhattan, on a near-freezing morning. The faithful wore ponchos and sweatshirts adorned with pictures of the Marian image. 

The Mass, which featured Cardinal Timothy Dolan as principal celebrant, marked the 494th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac, Mexico, in December 1531. Following the appearance, the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on the tilma of St. Juan Diego. The Mass was celebrated entirely in Spanish. 

As the icon of the pro-life movement, Our Lady of Guadalupe is a global symbol of hope, peace, and compassion. 

Concelebrating the Mass were Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar for clergy, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Espaillat, Rev. Richard Marrano, Rev. Oswaldo Hernandez, Father Jorge Silva, Rev. Jesus Ledezma, and Rev. Luis F. Saldaña, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx. 

Father Saldaña thanks pilgrims, compares Sts. John, Juan Diego 

Father Saldaña joked in his homily that the pilgrims should enjoy some hot chocolate on such a cold morning, but that it wouldn’t be as good as the hot chocolate available in Mexico. 

He thanked the pilgrims for their faith. “This cathedral, like the entire Church, is always a mixture, a union of things of God and things of humanity, the Holy Spirit, but it is also a human place where the divine mingles with the human. You have brought culture, the culture of Mexico, the culture of Latin America; there is the sacred, there is the sacramental, there is the sacrament of the Eucharist, but you have also brought and contributed to this celebration with your customs.” 

Father Saldaña compared the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego to the relationship between the Virgin Mary and St. John. “Do you remember when Jesus was on the cross, and St. John took Mary to live in his home? ‘Here is your mother, mother, and son.’ And that is what happens. And Mary, she goes with John. They form a little house, a little house of learning where all the disciples learn more about the life of Jesus Christ.” He asked the pilgrims to recreate that in their own houses. 

Pilgrims receive blessings 

Following the Mass, Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Whalen, and Bishop Espaillat sprinkled holy water on and blessed many of the pilgrims before they processed out of the cathedral. 

Pepe Chacon, 55, was among the procession faithful who joyfully entered the cathedral to attend the Mass. 

“We do this because of the faith we have in Our Lady of Guadalupe; the Mass was very good as always,” Chacon, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Mount Kisco, told The Good Newsroom after the liturgy. “This is a very sacred feast day for my family, it’s always been.” Chacon, born in Mexico, is a married father of two. 

Lisbet Paucar, 22, also participated in the procession and attended the Mass; she is New York-born of Ecuadorian descent, a parishioner of St. Helena Church in the Bronx. 

“I have a great faith in Our Lady of Guadalupe; she has always been with me, she has guided me in difficult moments,” Paucar said after the Mass. “I didn’t hesitate at all when they asked me to participate, to be with her, to celebrate her day, and give her thanks.” 

Ines Peñafiel, 56, a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, said she attended the special Guadalupe liturgy because “this is a very happy day; she is our Mother, the Virgin of Guadalupe. I loved the Mass, and the homily was beautiful.” Peñafiel was born in New York to Mexican parents. She is a married mother of three. 

— Armando Machado and Patrick Grady contributed to this report.