Chicago, IL (December 1, 2006)— On December 12, the Catholic Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Hispanic Catholics around the world celebrate Mary, the Mother of God’s multiple appearances in Tepeyac, a poor area on the outskirts of Mexico City, in 1531. Between December 9 and 12 of that year, the Virgin Mary appeared to the Amerindian Juan Diego, then to heal his dying Uncle Juan Bernardino, and lastly to miraculously paint the icon that now resides in Tepeyac’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe that attracts millions of pilgrims each year.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, this Advent’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day will be celebrated in parishes on the following dates and times:

• At 9 a.m. Sunday, December 3, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, will serve as the main celebrant at a Mass at Maryville Academy’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, 1150 North River Road, Des Plaines. The Mass marks the beginning of a nine-day novena of prayer services and rosaries at the El Cerrito del Tepeyac (the Hill of Tepeyac shrine) that culminate on December 12.
• At 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 10, Most Rev. John R. Manz, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, will preside at a bi-lingual prayer service at Holy Name Cathedral, State and Superior Streets, Chicago. This MISSION CHICAGO event is being held in honor of both the Advent season and the Our Lady Of Guadalupe Feast Day on December 12, and marks the culmination of a series of Archdiocesan-wide Spanish-language missions that began last spring. Fr. Claudio Diaz, Jr., Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, will serve as Master of Ceremonies at this prayer service.
• During the overnight hours of Sunday, December 11 and Monday, December 12, the annual Chicago Antorcha Guadalupana (Guadalupe torch run) will take place between the El Cerrito del Tepeyac (the Hill of Tepeyac shrine) at Maryville Academy, 1150 N. River Rd., Des Plaines, and St. Agnes of Bohemia Parish, 2651 S. Central Park Ave., Chicago. Most. Rev. George Rassas, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, will bless the torches of hundreds of runners before they replicate the Mexican tradition of taking the word of the Virgin Mary, or Jesus, to Catholics everywhere. Prayers begin before midnight, and the runners step off from the Maryville grounds at 1 a.m. for the four-hour, 25-mile run that will traverse the suburbs of Rosemont, Schiller Park, River Grove, Elmwood Park and varied Chicago neighborhoods. Along the route, runners will continually pass their torches to replacements, and at approximately 5 a.m. the group should reach St. Agnes of Bohemia Church on Chicago’s Southwest side where traditional Mexican dancers and musicians will greet the runners. A torch will then be placed below Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image at the church altar while “mananitas” (songs that honor Mary, the Mother of God) are sung. Mass will follow.
• At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12, the Feast Day of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, will serve as the main celebrant at a Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish, 2745 West 44th Street, Chicago.
• At 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 17, Most Rev. John R. Manz, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago will gather to pray with area Catholics for the 20th Annual Archdiocesan “Posada” at Holy Name Cathedral at State and Superior streets. Each year before Christmas, Hispanic Catholics across the world walk in processions reenacting the efforts of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph to find posada (shelter or lodging) to welcome the Infant Jesus into the world. At 6 p.m. three different walks to the steps of Holy Name Cathedral will step off from Chestnut and State, La Salle and Chicago and Ontario and Dearborn. At 6:30 p.m., Bishop Manz will meet and pray with procession participants, who are encourged to wear traditional costumes as a sign of solidarity with this country’s rich diversity of immigrants.