Hispanics Make Pilgrimage

Ruben Alvarado Corona from St. Raphael Catholic Church in Springdale holds a picture of the Virgin Mary during the pilgrimage.
Ruben Alvarado Corona from St. Raphael Catholic Church in Springdale holds a picture of the Virgin Mary during the pilgrimage.

— The people’s feet moved from left to right in unison. The wooden bells strapped to their ankles jangled together with the leading beat of the drum. Peacock, pheasant and other brilliant feathers moved with the dancing people dressed in blue, white, green, red and other colorful outfits. Others not dressed so vibrantly walked together.

They cheered. They sang. They prayed.

Hispanics in Northwest Arkansas came together on Sunday for a pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. More than 1,000 people walked 8.6 miles from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fayetteville to St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Springdale.

“The pilgrimage is to give the vast number of Hispanics of the Catholic faith in Northwest Arkansas a chance to portray their faith through their culture,” said Father John Antony of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. “They walk together today, just as they do through life, which is as one through Jesus Christ.”

Dec. 12 is an important day to Mexican Catholics. On that day in 1531, the archbishop believed that the peasant man Juan Diego truly saw the Virgin Mary.

Juan Diego claimed to see the Virgin Mary as a teenage girl on the hill of Tepayac, and said she had told him to build a church on the hill. When Juan Diego had told the archbishop of the encounter, he wanted proof.

After collecting roses in his cloak as the Virgin Mary instructed, Juan Diego went back to the archbishop. When he opened his cloak, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe had appeared on his cloak and it was declared a miracle.

There was a church built and because of the declared miracle, many of the indigenous people converted to Catholicism.

“The Aztec dancers represent the converts and their new-found joy in Jesus Christ,” said Lucy Morlet of Fayetteville.

People pilgrimage from all corners of the world to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Rodolfo Roman of Springdale grew up in Mexico. He reminisced about the celebrations that took place every Dec. 12 as people went to the basilica in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

People of all ages were in the pilgrimage. Children filled trailers pulled by trucks that were decorated with images of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Families walked together, singing about Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

“This is our heritage,” said Yesenia Paredes, 12, of Springdale. “It’s cold and long, but we do this to show our faith, our love for Mary and appreciation for her suffering.”

The pilgrimage was planned by members from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, St. Raphael’s Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Siloam Springs.

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