A Mariachi band plays music in front of the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe after Mass Dec. 7 at St. Benedict Cathedral. The Message photo by John Rohlf
By John Rohlf
The Message assistant editor
The Diocese of Evansville held their annual Diocesan Bilingual Celebration for Our Lady of Guadalupe, Emperese of America.
The annual celebration was held Dec. 7 at St. Benedict Cathedral. Starting at 11 a.m., there was a bilingual Rosary and traditional dancers. Bishop Joseph M. Siegel then celebrated Mass at noon. Several diocesan priests concelebrated the Mass. First-year seminarians were altar servers.
Father Juan Ramirez, one of several diocesan priests who concelebrated the Mass, delivered the homily during the Mass. He is the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Washington.
Father Ramirez said they were celebrating the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He said on Dec. 7, 2024, they celebrated the event that happened many years ago and still impacts our faith and our relationship with God today.
He said Our Lady of Guadalupe is accompanying us in this time until the second coming of Christ.
“She’s our mother and she’s there to help us in this journey of faith until Christ comes for the second time,” Father Ramirez said. “So today, this is a beautiful reminder for all of us as Catholics and believers in Our Lady of Guadalupe that we are not walking alone. We have her. We have her love, her intercession.”
Father Ramirez said in the Old Testament, God promised that he would send the Messiah. He said Our Lady of Guadalupe is accompanying us and letting us know that God fulfills his promises. He encouraged all in attendance to bring all their needs, fears and all that is in their hearts to the hands of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“All our needs, all our faith, whatever we need in our lives, let us place them in the hands of Our Lady of Guadalupe because she knows that God fulfills his promises and we have a mother. She’s there to help us and to bring us closer to her son every time,” Father Ramirez said.
After the Mass, a Mariachi band played music next to the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the front of the church. There was a meal in the Woodward Center at St. Benedict after Mass.
Father Juan Ramirez, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Washington, delivers the homily at the Bilingual Mass for the Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Emperese of America. The Message photo by John Rohlf