Hundreds of people gathered the evening of Dec. 11 at Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is observed on Dec. 12. Bishop Nelson Perez attended as a special guest.
Festivities began at 9 p.m. in the parish hall with food and entertainment and concluded about 2 a.m. on Dec. 12, after Mass.
Mariachis provided music and there was singing and dancing. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe occupied a place of honor on the stage in the parish hall, sitting atop a small hill built of stones. It was reminiscent of Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City, where St. Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, saw the Blessed Virgin appear in December 1531.
The Lady told him to visit the bishop and tell him what he had seen. She also instructed Juan Diego to tell the bishop to build a church on the hill. But the bishop was skeptical and asked for a sign. Although it was winter, the Lady told Juan Diego to cut the roses that were blooming, place them in his tilma (cloak) and return to the bishop. When he did and opened his cloak, the bishop saw an image of Our Lady
