The Diocese of Brooklyn celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a series of processions that stopped at 43 Catholic churches throughout Brooklyn and Queens, including the namesake Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Bensonhurst, on Tuesday, December 12.
The day began with a 10 a.m. Catechesis and a noon mass – celebrated in Spanish by Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and concelebrated by 25 priests as well as Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros, who delivered the homily – at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights.
Following mass, DiMarzio blessed and lit 43 “torches of the faithful,” after which 2,000 participants departed and made their pilgrimage to participating parishes along five routes – three which ended in Queens and two which concluded in Brooklyn.
Among the local stops were the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Dyker Heights, Holy Name Church in Windsor Terrace and St. Michael’s in Sunset Park.
According to the Diocese, the group of pilgrims represented, in its vast majority, the Mexican-Catholic population of Brooklyn and Queens. According to a recent Census, there are nearly 200,000 Brooklyn and Queens residents of Mexican descent.
The pilgrimage was organized by Reverend Jorge Ortiz-Garay, director of the Mexican Ministry.