(RNS) — Thousands gathered in New York City over the past two days to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the beloved patron saint of Mexico and a powerful symbol of unity and Catholic faith across Mexico and Central America.
The festivities began Wednesday evening (Dec. 11) with mariachi music and traditional Mexican folk dance, followed the next morning by a miles-long procession, or “carrera,” and a Spanish-language Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The events highlighted the cultural, as well as the religious, importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe among the city’s diverse Latin American communities. People of Mexican descent make up one of the largest subgroups of Latino residents in New York City, according to 2022 data from the CUNY Center for Latin American Studies…