Devoted island Catholics gathered at the San Pedro Central Park on Thursday, December 12th to honor La Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady Guadalupe). The annual tradition is part of festivities held across the Americas in the Roman Catholic Church. The day pays homage to the story of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Deigo, an indigenous Mexican farmer in the Hill of Tepeyac in 1531.
In opening the celebration, the San Pedro Roman Catholic Church hosted the traditional mañanitas and mass at 4AM. Father Scott Guiliani was the main celebrant at the 5AM mass, leading a joyful celebration that felt as if the spirit of Our Lady of Guadalupe was amongst the devoted attendees. A generous full breakfast followed the mass.
The night’s event commenced with a procession from the San Pablo Catholic Church to the town’s Central Park, the official venue for evening mass. There were several booths offering services, and the youth group entertained children with fun games. Local singers serenaded the crowd with their rendition of classic hymns. In attendance was the San Pedro Dance Company, with routines choreographed especially for the event. Leading the official mass was Father Scott once again, and many followers of the Catholic faith presented candles and flowers as offerings during the holy ceremony.
Visiting priest Father Eduardo Montemayor led an inspiring ReVive talk, during which he spoke of “Facing the Giants” to the gathering. He also blessed those in attendance and asked the Virgen de Guadalupe to continue protecting and guiding the island of Ambergris Caye and its people.
The San Pedro Roman Catholic Church takes the opportunity to wish everyone a joyous Advent and Christmas. For those interested, the 2019 Christmas Eve mass will take place on Tuesday, December 24th at 10PM at the main church on Barrier Reef Drive. Christmas Day masses will take place on Wednesday, December 25th at 8AM, 10AM and 7PM (Spanish).
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