Catholic Church Celebrates Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 2024

On December 12, 2024, the Catholic Church around the world, particularly in the Americas, is celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This significant event is marked with special Masses and prayers in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary under her title as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The celebration is particularly meaningful in Mexico, where the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located in Mexico City. The feast commemorates the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, a poor Indian who was baptized and given the name Juan Diego, in the 16th century. On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego reported seeing a radiant cloud and the Virgin Mary on a hill called Tepeyac, an event that has become a cornerstone of Catholic faith in the Americas.

In Canada, following the recommendation of the Catholic Aboriginal Council for Reconciliation, the feast is also celebrated as a national day for prayer in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, emeritus archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall, led the Daily TV Mass from the Saint Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre in Pickering, Ontario, highlighting the importance of this feast and the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Mass included readings from the book of Revelation and the Gospel, emphasizing the themes of justice, peace, and the protection of the Virgin Mary. The celebration is a time for Catholics to reflect on their faith, seek the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and peace, and honor the blessed Virgin Mary.