During an archdiocesan-wide celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 6, Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre prayed for immigrants and migrants and for the passage of laws to protect them.
The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast day is Dec. 12, was held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in St. Matthews. The celebration — which included Mass and the rosary prayed in various languages — drew about 200 people, including clergy and religious, and members of the Vietnamese, African, Syro-Malabar, Hispanic and Latino communities.
“We are one with one mother. … Let us invoke her intercession in recognizing the human dignity of all, in particular immigrants and migrants coming here seeking a better life.”
— Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre
Archbishop Fabre presided, and Father David Sánchez, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, preached a homily in English and Spanish.
At the conclusion of Mass, Archbishop Fabre told the diverse congregation that Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, is a mother to all.
“We are one with one mother,” he said. “Let us invoke her intercession in recognizing the human dignity of all, in particular immigrants and migrants coming here seeking a better life.”
The archbishop prayed for the passage of immigration laws that respect borders and create a path to legalization for undocumented individuals. With the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “may we see this come about very soon,” he said.
In the homily, Father Sánchez recounted the story of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“In 1531, she came down from heaven to visit Tepeyac, to a humble peasant, who is today, St. Juan Diego,” said Father Sánchez.
Our Lady asked St. Juan Diego to share his experience with the bishop. Juan Diego did, but the bishop didn’t believe, recounted Father Sánchez. Our Lady then instructed Juan Diego to find and fill his tilma, a traditional cloak, with Castilian roses. Upon returning to the bishop, Juan Diego opened his tilma and let the roses fall, revealing an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The image remains on the tilma to this day, Father Sánchez said.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is “always in our midst,” he said. Through her, “we have an opportunity to participate in the divinity of her son.”
In the Gospel of Luke, when the angel announced Mary would conceive a son, “She accepted the call and said ‘yes,’ ” said Father Sánchez. “The question today is, can we say yes? Can we participate with Jesus as he guides us to salvation?”
Father Sánchez went on to say that the Blessed Virgin Mary always comes as a mother during her apparitions around the globe — including in Fatima and Lourdes.
“She always appears as a mother, and we can trust in her love,” he said.
Father Sánchez said he learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe from his Mexican and Guatemalan parishioners when he arrived in the Archdiocese of Louisville three decades ago. He grew up with a devotion to Our Lady of Providence, patroness of his native Puerto Rico, he noted. The feast of Our Lady of Providence is observed Nov. 19, he said.
Though the Blessed Virgin Mary has many titles and there are many devotions, “We have to understand that she’s the one mother who unites us. … At the end of the day, she brings us together with the joy of a mother who wants to be close to her children,” said Father Sánchez. “We’re brothers and sisters of the one mother.”
Father Sánchez concluded his homily by cheering in Spanish, “Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe,” meaning “Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe.”
“Que viva,” the congregation responded.
A reception that included cultural foods followed the Mass. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be observed Dec. 12 in parishes around the archdiocese.
