Monday, December 13, 1999

Service honors patron saint

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BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        COVINGTON — About 500 Tristate Hispanics came together Sunday evening to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and other American nations.

        Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Central and South Americans crowded the pews at Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption here to sing and pray.

        The special service was similar to others across the globe as Hispanics recognized the day that Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to a peasant native on a hill near modern-day Mexico City in 1531.

        The reported appearance resulted in millions of natives converting to Catholicism, the religion the Spaniards had brought to their land a decade before.

        “It's something of our culture,” said Monica Tafolla, 20, a Newport resident originally from Mexico. Besides the day's religious aspect, “it's an excuse also to get together.”

        The Diocese of Covington and Archdiocese of Cincinnati have taken turns in hosting the celebration for several years. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati hosted last year's event.

        Normally, there is an outdoor procession to the church. That was canceled this year because of Sunday's rain. Still, there was a procession inside the Cathedral. The person in the lead held a large, framed picture of Mary.

        It was placed at the front of the altar, with candles and rose petals strewn at its lower edge.

        Three sisters from Florence — Elizabeth, Blanca Elena and Beatriz Selene Montes — did an Aztec dance before the Rev. John W. Cahill, rector and pastor of the cathedral, led the church in a special service in Spanish.

       

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