Eucharistic celebration on Our Lady of Guadalupe Day

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 2010 in La Antigua Guatemala began at midnight with firecrackers, firebombs and fireworks. It was unusual for the celebrations to begin so early and wit so much commotion in every village, town and city in Sacatepéquez. How strange, we thought.

A few hours later, we went to Iglesia de La Merced, which is the church where Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe is celebrated in La Antigua Guatemala. Outside in the atrium and park areas everything seemed normal, yet a little quite. We thought that perhaps we arrived too early or too late. Once we went inside the church to the area where they keep a replica of the painting of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the effigy float. If outside seem a little quite, inside it was almost empty, compared to previous years. I managed to get a few photos of the pequeñas inditas; some of the photos were published yesterday as Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Next to the Virgin of Guadalupe float we were informed that normal celebration had been modified because of a special mass service at the cathedral at 3 pm. There we went.

We arrived at Central Park minutes before 3 pm and we were surprised to see so many people waiting the Eucharistic celebration at the atrium of the cathedral. We learned that the mass service was going to be performed by archbishop Monseñor Oscar Julio Vian Morales, who is archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 2 October 2010. Also, most priests and clergymen from Sacatepéquez were present for the Eucaristía. Then, only then, we realized the importance of the mass service by Monsignor Oscar Julio Vian Morales for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This was among the most impressive and inspiring mass services I have ever attended in my life; not too many to begin with, but spectacular nonetheless. This Eucharistic celebration was the reason I took so many photos; too many to share here all at once. I hand-picked the most representatives so you can get an idea of the event. Make sure you click on the thumbnails below to get the larger images.

Please, let me know what you think of the photographs!

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