Parishes around the Archdiocese celebrate winter feast days
The months of December and January are among the coldest of the year, but the chill in the air did not deter parishes around the Archdiocese of Newark from celebrating their faith. From Hispanic devotions of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador to Filipino and Italian feast days, parish celebrations were diverse and deeply rooted in community.
Scroll below to see photos from the various feast days.
Our Lady of Guadalupe – Dec. 12
The origin of this popular feast dates to December of 1531 when a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to Saint Juan Diego in Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City. She instructed him to have Bishop Juan de Zummaraga build a church on the site and left an image of herself imprinted on Juan Diego’s tilma, a poor-quality cactus cloth, as a sign for the bishop.
Every year, millions of pilgrims travel to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on this feast day.
For more pictures of parish celebrations from Our Lady of Guadalupe, click here.
St. Lucy – Dec. 13
St. Lucy is a virgin martyr from the early Church, born to noble parents in Sicily in 283 AD. She consecrated her virginity to God, and after rejecting her bridegroom, she was denounced as a Christian and ordered to be killed.
During her death, her eyes were gouged out, but when she was being prepared for burial it was discovered that her eyes had been restored. As such, she is the patron saint of blindness and eyes.
One parish in the Archdiocese of Newark is named after her: St. Lucy in Newark .
Our Lady of the Clouds – Jan. 1
The lesser known Marian devotion of Virgen de la Nube, typically held on Jan. 1 (the same day as the Solemnity of Mary), is celebrated within the Ecuadorian and Peruvian communities.
The origin dates to December of 1696, when the bishop of Quito, Ecuador had fallen gravely ill. A procession of 500 people carried an image of Our Lady of Guapulo and prayed for the recovery of the bishop. When the people reached the steps of the church, kneeled, and sang the Glory Be, the image of Mary appeared in the clouds and the bishop was miraculously healed. After the event, Franciscan friars founded a sanctuary in her honor in Azogues, where an annual pilgrimage occurs.
Every year, the Ecuadorian community of Hackensack celebrates the feast at St. Francis of Assisi Church, which is run by Capuchin Franciscan friars.
Feast of the Epiphany – Jan. 6
The Epiphany celebrates the revelation to the Three Wise Men that Jesus was the Son of God, while also celebrating Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and the wedding at Cana. The feast concludes the Christmas season.
To celebrate, parishes reenact the adoration the Magi, hold concerts, and participate in pageants – which sometimes include camels.
For more pictures of parish celebrations from the Feast of the Epiphany, click here.
Santo Niño – Jan. 15
The devotion to Santo Niño de Cebu, the Holy Child of Cebu, dates to the 16th century when Ferdinand Magellan landed on the shores of Cebu, Philippines, and presented the image of the Child Jesus to Rajah Humabon, the ruler of the island, marking the beginning of the native people’s conversion to Catholicism.
A festival is traditionally held on the third Sunday of January and is celebrated by millions of people in the Philippines every year.
For more pictures of parishes celebrating the Santo Niño Festival, click here.
St. Sebastian – Jan. 20
Saint Sebastian was a third-century Roman officer who was charged as a Christian and sentenced to death. He famously survived being shot with arrows, returned to preach to Emperor Diocletian, and was then martyred.
The Feast of St. Sebastian is celebrated every year by Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Montclair and the San Sebastian Society.
Our Lady of Altagracia – Jan. 21
Our Lady of Altagracia, or Our Lady of High Grace, is the patroness and protector of the Dominican Republic.
The devotion arises from a popular legend dating to the 16th century Dominican Republic. A child sees an image of the Blessed Mother in her dreams and asks her father, a merchant, to obtain it. The father searches everywhere and cannot find anything matching the description until he comes to an inn, where a mysterious old man unfurls the image and gives it to the father. He takes it home and it vanishes overnight, appearing the next day in an orange tree. According to legend, this continued to happen until a church was built for the image in the orange grove.
The image was more likely painted in Spain and brought over to the island in 1502 by two brothers. It has resided in the Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia since 1970 and attracts more than 800,000 pilgrims a year.
St. Cyrus of Alexandria – Jan. 31
Cyrus of Alexandria is a saint of the early Church known for healing the sick for free and converting souls. A quote attributed to him is: “Whoever wishes to avoid being ill should refrain from sin, for sin is often the cause of bodily illness.”
During the Christian persecution by Diocletian, he withdrew from Egypt to Arabia where he became a monk and assumed a life of asceticism. He died in the early 4th century.
The Italian community of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield celebrates San Ciro d’Alessandria in late January.
For pictures of Christmas around the Archdiocese of Newark, click here.
