The devotion to the Empress of the Americas is not exclusive to her Mexican people in the tri-state region, as immigrants of various nationalities also commemorate her appearance on December 12, 1531 at the top of the Tepeyac hill, according to the account of the Catholic Church. .
The Patron Saint of Mexico appeared on four occasions to Juan Diego, a native of Cuautitlán who desperately sought help for his sick uncle. The account establishes that the first official celebration was registered in 1667 by order of Pope Clement IX, who instituted December 12 as a Feast Day in Honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Tepeyac Association, founded in the Big Apple in 1997 by the Guadalupano committees of our area, organized the first Guadalupana Mexico-New York Torch Race in 2002, over a period of 45 days. In that year, the runners left the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City with their final destination to the Cathedral of San Patricio, in New York.
The captains of the race explain that the Torch goes beyond religious tradition, as its ultimate goal is to promote inclusive and humanitarian immigration reform. The 4,000-mile journey between Mexico City and New York seeks to add support to the movement for the legalization of undocumented migrants and reaffirm the defense of their human, labor and civil rights.
The Torch not only represents faith in the Patron Saint of Mexico, but also the hope of immigrant communities in the Big Apple and across the nation.
In general, the race departs from the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City in September to take a tour of a dozen states of the Aztec country and a dozen more along the east coast of the United States.
The State of Mexico, Morelos, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Tamaulipas are part of the journey in Mexico.
The route on US soil covers Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, finally arriving in New York on December 12.
For 90 days, about 8,000 runners take shifts until they reach New York.
Traditionally, the Guadalupe Torch was received by the Archbishop of New York at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, where a mass was celebrated. However, due to the large number of faithful who seek the glow of the fire that comes from Mexico, since 2014 the Torch has been received in Central Park and from there it goes to the UN headquarters, where the blessing is given to the runners who they prepared for months for the big event.
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR FROM THE TORCH GUADALUPANA
- In the early morning of December 12, around 3 am, the Torch will be flown from Passaic, NJ to the New York border via the George Washington Bridge.
- The Torch runners gather at the United Nations from noon to 1 pm to venerate the Patron Saint of Mexico. The meeting point will be on 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues.
Open here for more details on this year’s activities.
MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL SAN PATRICIO
The mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be celebrated in the Cathedral of San Patricio on Sunday, December 12 at 4 pm The mass coincides with the third Sunday of Advent and will be celebrated by Bishop Ramón Castro Castro, Bishop of Cuernavaca.
This year, the Episcopal Conference of Mexico sends Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York and the Archdiocese of New York, two images representing Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego.
Both images have traveled from Mexico to New York since November 29, 2021, with stops at various churches along the way. The trip began with a mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico on November 29 and a dedication of the images.
Immediately following the 4 p.m. Mass on December 12 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the images will head to Staten Island as part of a 12-month journey through the ten-county Archdiocese of New York for those who they cannot travel to the cathedral.
Mass is open to the public, but reservations are required due to health protocols and arrive 30 minutes before the event. It can also be seen on the Internet at https://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/live/.
The Mexican Folkloric Ballet of New York City, the Mariachi Tapatío by Álvaro Paulino and his Mariachi Juvenil are presented.
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