For another year, St. Peter's Basilica was decorated to honor the patron saint of the Americas.
Pope Francis presided over the Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In his homily, the pope insisted that no one is small or should feel ashamed in God's eye.
POPE FRANCIS
“The dream of God isn't to be barrenness, nor to stigmatize or fill his children with shame, but rather, to sprout a song of blessing in them and from them.”
Pope Francis also explained that Our Lady of Guadalupe wanted to appear to St. Juan Diego with the same characteristics of his people.
POPE FRANCIS
“The Virgin Mary with brown skin and a mixed face, supported by an angel with quetzal, pelican and macaw wings; the mother capable of taking on the features of Her children to make them feel included in Her blessing.”
Thus, the pope asserted the special character of the Latin American people and asked for defense against any attempt at standardization.
POPE FRANCIS
“Our fertility demands the defense of our people from an ideological colonization that does away with the richest of them – whether indigenous, African American, mixed, rural or suburban.”
As is customary on this day, the Mass ended with singing of “La Guadalupana.” For the fourth consecutive year, Pope Francis presided over this ceremony in honor of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, a tradition begun by Benedict XVI in 2011.