On the Dec. 12 feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, thousands of people participated in the virtual Walk with Mary celebration organized by the Archdiocese of Washington. The faithful showed their devotion through the messages posted during the livestreamed rosary and Mass.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory was the principal celebrant of the multilingual Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. D.C. The concelebrants at the Mass included Washington Auxiliary bishops Mario Dorsonville and Roy E. Campbell, Jr.; Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the rector of St. Matthew’s Cathedral; and Father John Benson, a parochial vicar there.

“God the Father of Mercy, who have placed this people of yours under the special protection of the ever Virgin of Guadalupe, mother of your Son, grant us by her intercession to deepen our faith and seek the progress of peoples through paths of justice and peace," said Cardinal Gregory in Spanish.

The procession, rosary, and Mass that every year draws thousands of faithful was livestreamed this year as a safety precaution during the coronavirus pandemic. The traditional two-mile procession from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception did not take place this year.

More than 3,000 views were logged on the YouTube page of the Archdiocese, and viewers from as far as Texas, Washington state, and Colombia posted messages and intentions to the patroness of the Americas, as Our Lady of Guadalupe is also known.

Some like Karen Romero prayed for good health and the spiritual well-being of her family, and others prayed for peace and an end to the pandemic.

Hajaratu K. wrote, “Our Lady of Guadalupe, thanks for always being our help, guidance, and protector.”

Another viewer identified as Ande T. wrote, “Blessed Mother, please pray for peace in the world and increase our faith.”

Aztec dancers performed before the annual Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe began at St. Matthew's Cathedral. (CS photos/Andrew Biraj)

The opening of the multilingual Mass included the traditional Aztec dance and Miracle of the Roses.  About two dozen dancers dressed in Aztec attire and moving to the beat of drums walked toward the altar before a man portraying St. Juan Diego presented his cloak or “tilma” bearing an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Cardinal Gregory.

Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego, a Mexican indigenous peasant, four times in 1531 and asked for a church to be built at the site in Tepeyac, Mexico. When the bishop asked for a sign, St. Juan Diego -- directed by the Blessed Mother   -- brought the bishop freshly cut roses wrapped in his cloak or tilma. When he opened the tilma before the bishop, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted in it. The tilma is still on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville gives his homily during the Dec. 12 Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe as the patroness of the Americas. Behind him are flags of nations from that part of the world. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

In the homily, drawing from the Gospel reading that describes the Annunciation, Bishop Dorsonville reminded the faithful that the message of the Annunciation “entails the infinite love of God who gives His Son to humanity, so that in love, He may give in abundance and in fullness what God is to us: Love on the cross.”  

At a time when so many people are suffering, Bishop Dorsonville invited people to take up and love their crosses and imitate Mary when she accepted God’s will in the Annunciation.

“Whoever accepts God, lets the Holy Spirit come into his life and in his family and bears fruit. Whoever closes himself to the actions of God is barren, because he only thinks of himself or herself,” continued the bishop in Spanish.

Bishop Dorsonville also urged the faithful to familiarize themselves with the messages of Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” to move forward through the pandemic in hope and solidarity inspired by the Gospel and rooted in the social doctrine of the Church.

“How are we going to recover?” Bishop Dorsonville asked. “There is just one way, and it is the way to be open to rebuilding this broken society through our ability to come together as brothers and sisters, to rescue the sense of solidarity.”

People pray during the Dec. 12 Mass that was part of the Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Walk with Mary celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was livestreamed this year and had only a small number of people in the congregation at St. Matthew's Cathedral due to the coronavirus pandemic. (CS photos/Andrew Biraj)

The multicultural rosary and Mass organized by the Office for Cultural Diversity and Outreach of the Archdiocese of Washington included prayers and readings in seven languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog (a language of the Philippines), Creole (a French-based language spoken in Haiti), Temne (a language spoken in Sierra Leone, Africa), Maya (a language of indigenous people in Mexico and Central America), and Vietnamese.

During the prayer of the faithful, intentions were offered for those affected by the pandemic; for an end to racial prejudice, discrimination, and abortion; for the welcoming of migrants and refugees, and for laws that respect their dignity and keep their families united.

The tilma used during the annual archdiocesan celebration was hand-embroidered by nuns of the Convent of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament in the city of Morelia in Michoacán, Mexico, and is available to visit parishes to spread the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the biblical call to welcome the stranger.

In the photo above, Cardinal Gregory elevates the Eucharist during the consecration at the Dec. 12 Mass. At left is Bishop Mario Dorsonville. In the photo below, Bishop Roy Campbell Jr. gives Communion to a woman at the Mass. (CS photos/Andrew Biraj)