For Latin American pilgrims, December 12 is one of the most important days on their calendar: the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
This year, for the first time, Pope Leo XIV presided over this Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
It was also a very special occasion for the Pope as well. Our Lady of Guadalupe is not only the patroness of the United States, where Pope Leo grew up, but also of his second homeland, Peru, where he lived for 20 years.
POPE LEO XIV
Throughout her existence, Mary brings that joy wherever human happiness falls short, wherever the wine has run out. That is what happens in Guadalupe. At Tepeyac, she awakens in the people of the Americas the joy of knowing they are loved by God.
In the ceremony, the first rows were filled with several Mexicans wearing their regional costumes in honor of the Guadalupana. The story of Our Lady is deeply connected to their culture.
POPE LEO XIV
In the apparitions of 1531, speaking to Saint Juan Diego in his mother tongue, she declares that she “very much desires” that a “little sacred house” be built there, from which she will praise God and make Him known. In the midst of conflicts that never cease, injustices and sufferings seeking relief, Mary of Guadalupe proclaims the core of her message: ‘Am I not here, I who am your mother?’ It is the voice that makes the promise of divine fidelity resound, the presence that sustains when life becomes unbearable.
Taking advantage of this moment of reflection and prayer, Pope Leo prayed for families, for the Church, and for the end to the war. Finally, at the end his petitions to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Leo XIV prayed for his own mission as the Successor of Peter.
POPE LEO XIV
Mother “of the true God for whom we live,” come to the aid of the Successor of Peter, so that he may confirm in the only path that leads to the blessed Fruit of your womb all those entrusted to me. Remind this son of yours, “to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven for the good of all,” that those keys may serve “to bind and loose and to redeem every human misery.”
With the singing of “La Guadalupana” echoing throughout the Basilica, and with a visibly moved Pope Leo XIV joining the melody, the celebration—marked by Latin American devotion and identity—came to an end.
CRT
