Men and boys wave banners with the American flag and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe during Friday's procession through Wilkes-Barre marking Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day. The commemoration of Mexico's patron saint is widely celebrated by Catholics of Mexican descent at home and in communities where they have settled in other countries, including the U.S.
It is one of the most sacred and beloved days for Roman Catholics of Mexican descent.
Dec. 12, the feast day of Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is celebrated widely in the country as well in communties where Mexican immigrants have settled abroad.
That includes Wilkes-Barre.
Members of St. Nicholas-St. Mary Parish gathered Friday for morning prayers, a two-hour afternoon procession, and Mass at St. Nicholas Church in downtown Wilkes-Barre to mark the day.
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Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession began at the the Vergara home on North Sherman Street in Wilkes-Barre.
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Sixta Marianna Galeno walks beside a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wilkes-Barre on Friday as she once did in Mexico, showering the statue with rose petals.
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Hundreds of faithful process through Wilkes-Barre to St. Nicholas Church on Friday, Dec. 12 in celebration of the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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Chinello dancers make their way over the South Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre during Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession.
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Quirino Ponce adjusts the crown on the Our Lady of Guadalupe statue in Wilkes-Barre.
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Sixta Marianna Galeno, 86, walks before the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe over the South Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre.
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Claus Casales leads the procession in prayer during Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession in Wilkes-Barre. The procession, which began at 4 p.m. on North Sherman Street, took about two hours in 20-degree temperatures.
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Diego Agiular, 9, wore a painted moustache to resemble St. Juan Diego, as he led Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession and carried a banner with U.S. flags and Our Lady. Catholic tradition holds that Diego and his uncle saw apparations of Our Lady in Mexico in 1531.
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A young girl carries her statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe during Friday's procession in Wilkes-Barre.
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A young girl is dressed to dance with the Chinellos during Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession in Wilkes-Barre.
Aimee Dilger / WVIA News
Who is Our Lady of Guadalupe?
Non-Catholics may not realize that Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, are the same person.
In Catholic tradition, Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican, and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, in December 1531 in what was then Tepeyac, now the Villa de Guadalupe neighborhood of Mexico City.
Aimee Dilger
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WVIA News
A woman carries her statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe along Friday's procession to St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre to be blessed.
That image of a pregnant Mary, surrounded by a brilliant sunburst, is preserved at her namesake basilica in Mexico.
It is recreated by the statues, paintings and banners that the faithful carry during feast day celebrations, as they did Friday in Wilkes-Barre.
As the Associated Press reported, throngs of pilgrims filled the streets of Mexico City on Friday for celebrations there, while Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Vatican.
Hundreds took part in Friday's procession, despite temperatures in the low 20s, and St. Nicholas Church on South Washington Street had a standing-room-only crowd by the time Mass began.
One local family is chosen to host a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the year leading up to the feast day. This year, that honor was bestowed upon the Vergara family.
The rose-covered statue is then carried by worshippers through the streets to the church, where many bring their own statues and mementoes of Mary to be blessed.
Many also dress in traditional Mexican attire, dancing and singing along the route, and some even wear representations of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Scranton Diocese Bishop Joseph Bambera celebrated Mass Friday at St. Nicholas Church following the procession.
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Claudia Casales arrives on knees to St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Dec. 12 for Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day Mass.
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Many carried pictures and statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe during Friday's procession in Wilkes-Barre.
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The steeple of St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre, is seen in the distance as parshioners process to Mass during Friday's commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day.
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A woman prays in St. Nicholas Church on Friday, Dec. 12, in Wilkes-Barre during the Feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
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A young boy wears a robe with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe during Friday's procession in Wilkes-Barre.
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Parishioners enter St. Nicholas Church on Friday, Dec. 12, on their knees carrying flowers for Our Lady of Guadalupe during commemoration of her feast day in Wilkes-Barre.
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Statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe are left at the altar of St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre, to be blessed on Friday Dec. 12.
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Dancers wear skirts that twirl called 'Faldas de Folklorico' during Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession in Wilkes-Barre.
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Young girls carry flowers to place before the Virgin of Guadalupe statue at St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre, on Friday Dec. 12.
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A mariachi band played throughout Friday's Our Lady of Guadalupe procession in Wilkes-Barre.
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The statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego is adorned in flowers and men take turns carrying it during the procession to St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre, on Friday.
