Traditional Peruvian Mass to be Celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Sunday, October 15
By: Armando Machado
Bishop Joseph Espaillat will be the principal celebrant of Brotherhood of Our Lord of Miracles liturgy
The annual Mass in honor of Our Lord of Miracles is scheduled for Sunday, October 15 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 2 p.m. It is a traditional Peruvian liturgy, celebrated in Spanish.
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of the Archdiocese of New York is to serve as principal celebrant and homilist, the New York archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry said.
Ignacio Alvares, president of the archdiocesan Brotherhood of Our Lord of Miracles, said that after the Mass, as in past years, there will be a procession from the cathedral to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on West 51st Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), a parish that over the years has attracted many families from Peru.
“The Mass is about love for the Lord, and about faith in Him – the Lord of Miracles,” Alvares told The Good Newsroom. “Everyone who comes (to the Mass each year), you could see in them the great love they have for the Lord. People come from all over to receive the miracles they ask of Him. It is a long tradition that began in Peru.”
Alvares said the annual Mass at the cathedral began in 1975, and that he has been president of the committee since 2017. He noted that on the last Sunday of each month, a Mass in honor of Our Lord of Miracles is celebrated at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.
Our Lord of Miracles is a painted image of Jesus, venerated in Lima, Peru. The image was painted in the 17th century by Benito (or Pedro) Dalcón, an African taken as a slave from what is now known as Angola to Peru. The celebrations occur every October 18, 19, and 28.
Christ is shown in the image enduring the pain of crucifixion. On the cross is the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Below and to the right of Jesus is His mother, the Virgin Mary, with her heart pierced by a symbolic sword of pain. Kneeling and crying at the foot of the cross is St. Mary Magdalene. The original image is preserved in Lima.
In other Hispanic Ministry news: this year’s annual Mass in honor of Our Lady of Aparecida, patroness of Brazil, had been scheduled for Sunday, October 8 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 2 p.m., but was canceled. “The Our Lady of Aparecida Mass has been postponed until next year due to transitions in the committee; we will hopefully resume the Mass in 2024,” Wanda Vasquez, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry, told The Good Newsroom.