Friday, November 26, 1999
Guadalupe festival is outreach to Hispanics
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, which has a growing Spanish-speaking community, will welcome Tristate Hispanics next month to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and all nations in the Americas.
“We're glad to open the doors for all the Spanish-speaking people in the area,” said the Rev. John W. Cahill, rector and pastor of the cathedral.
A Dec. 12 procession will begin at 7 p.m. on 11th Street and wind toward the cathedral, 1140 Madison Ave. A celebration to include cultural dances will follow. The event is expected to last until 10:30 or 11 p.m.
The celebration marks the day when many believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to a peasant native on a
hill near modern-day Mexico City in 1531. Just a decade had passed since the cross-carrying Spanish conquistadors had arrived and ravaged the Aztec civilization. After the reported appearance, the indigenous population converted to Catholicism by the millions.
Father Cahill said the Diocese of Covington and Archdiocese of Cincinnati have taken turns in hosting the celebration for several years. Last year, he said, hundreds of Hispanic Catholics participated in the Our Lady of Guadalupe procession that ended at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati.
“We had a real good crowd last year,” he said, “because there's a long tradition of the Lady of Guadalupe being a patroness of the Americas. It's a longstanding tradition, particularly for Mexicans.”
Between 1990 and 1998, the number of Hispanic residents in the 14 counties served by the Diocese of Covington jumped 49 percent — from 1,665 to 2,481. Several churches, including the cathedral, are offering Spanish-language Masses.
Father Cahill said the church wanted to help Hispanics keep their culture alive.
Hosting Our Lady of Guadalupe processions is one example of this desire, he said.
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