Walking With the Virgin to Celebrate Her Feast Day

Hundreds filled the streets of Santa Ana in a solemn procession that ended with church services early Saturday to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The procession, which began at 8 p.m. Friday, wound through the streets for five hours, following a four-mile route from the Our Lady of the Pillar Church to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and back. Many people joined the throng along the way, and the crowd swelled to more than 1,000 behind a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was held aloft on a platform.

At midnight, as the procession was ending, a Mass took place to honor the revered patron saint of Mexico. The crowd was so large that another service followed at 1 a.m.

Isabel Gutierrez, 19, walked in the procession with her four brothers. She said participating in the event brings her peace and the opportunity to show her devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the church.

“I’m grateful to God. The church has given me so many good things,” she said. “I go every year, and will keep on going.”

The procession is held to mark the day in 1531 when the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before Juan Diego, a poor Indian, near the site of modern-day Mexico City. She instructed him to ask the Catholic bishop to build a shrine at the site.

The site now features a modern basilica and the day of her appearance draws millions to Mexico and prompts large processions and celebrations in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexican communities in the United States.

“We do this basically for the youth,” said Carlos Pedroza of Santa Ana, who helped organize this weekend’s procession and Eucharist. “We’re trying to keep them off the streets, away from drugs and out of gangs and to reconstruct our families.”

By holding lively, festive commemorations in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, organizers hope a new generation will discover their connection to Mexican religious customs.

“The youth needs to know where we come from,” Pedroza said.

The procession was held at night to enable more people to participate and to avoid traffic problems over the eight-mile trek, which was escorted by police in cruisers and on motorcycles and regulated by volunteer marshals, Pedroza said. Police reported the night was uneventful.