Procession Honors Virgin of Guadalupe
Joining a celebration by millions of others throughout Mexico and the United States, residents of Blythe Street held a special Mass and procession Thursday, honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe on her feast day.
About 200 Blythe Street residents recited prayers, lit candles and marched, holding aloft an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who for centuries has endured as a symbol of national unity for Mexicans and Mexican Americans.
Residents also reenacted the events of Dec. 12, 1531, when tradition holds that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared before peasant Juan Diego on a hilltop near modern-day Mexico City.
Honored with murals, medals, shrines and calendars, the Virgin’s popularity has been growing in recent times, even among many non-Catholic Latinos.
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