Faith Fills Streets : At Least 1,000 Worshipers Gather to Honor Virgin of Guadalupe

SANTA ANA —  Hundreds of Latinos gathered in downtown Santa Ana on Sunday to honor Mexico’s patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, who appeared before an Indian peasant 465 years ago near modern-day Mexico City.

Official crowd estimates were unavailable, but at least 1,000 worshipers attended the ceremony, which included a procession led by Bishop Norman McFarland that traveled four blocks from 4th Street and Broadway to 4th and Spurgeon streets.

The march included parishioners from various parishes throughout the county, who marched behind banners depicting a figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe on one side and the name of their church on the other.

Hundreds of people took time from shopping in the dozens of Latino-owned stores that cater to Orange County’s immigrant community to take part in the ceremony at the end of the march.

McFarland blessed the crowd from the stage at the end of the procession, joined by other priests, including Msgr. Jaime Soto, who addressed the crowd.

“Latinos have political power now,” said Soto, in a reference to the November election which saw Latino voters make the difference in Democrat Loretta Sanchez’s narrow victory over Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). “We also have power as consumers, but we should be conscious of the fact that real power is not in political or material things, but in moral and spiritual strength.”

The ceremony honoring the Madonna included dancers in native costumes and a mariachi band, which sang “Las Mananitas Guadalupanas,” the traditional homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Her three appearances before peasant Juan Diego on a hilltop in 1531 near Mexico City also were reenacted.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is revered by Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans.

“My great-grandfather and grandfather wore a medal of the Virgin of Guadalupe around their necks all of their lives. They were born in Mexico,” said Mike Saldivar of Tustin. “My dad carried her picture with him when he was in the Army, and I wear my grandfather’s chain and medal now.”

Tomas Santiago Arredondo said he arrived in Santa Ana from Zacatecas, Mexico, 11 years ago, and still follows a family tradition of attending Mass every Dec. 12, the date when the Virgin de Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego.

“If you’re mejicano, the Virgin of Guadalupe is your special protector. We’re brought up to believe this. If you look at her face, you’ll see that she is brown-skinned, like us. We are her chosen.”