Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Resources: Mexico Image: http://it.wikibooks.org/wiki/File:Mexico_Flag_Map.svg Virgen/Juan Diego Image: www.diosjesustehabla.com "Guadalupana" Song snips: Enrique Chia Video footage: Maria De la Cruz Many thanks to all the groups & individuals that participated in this celebration - 2008.
This church is the Regional Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As such, it attracts many visitors and persons whose faith in the Protectress of the Americas leads them to pray at this shrine. We are located about two miles west of San Antonio's downtown River Walk area. Liturgies are rich in Native American and Hispanic culture. The annual celebration of Our Lady's feast on December 12th is a rich and inspiring occasion. The dancing of Matachines and the singing of Mariachis begin at twilight on December 11th and continue for the following 24 to 30 hours. Because of the number of persons who come to pray, the church is opened around 7:00 AM and remains open until 5:00 PM each day of the week. The church faces the Plaza Guadalupe on the south. Pope John Paul II gave a speech in this Plaza on September 13, 1987 during his visit to San Antonio - the only Spanish speech in this US visit.
"Los Pastores" - A Birth of Traditions
In the early 1900s, Don Leandro Granados brought the script for "Los Pastores" (The Shepherds play) to our first pastor, Fr. Carmelo Tranchese, who edited and translated the document. Thus, the birth of our parish coincided with the birth of this devotional Christmas tradition, which reenacts the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem to adore the Christ Child. Photo from Guadalupe Church archives.
The Rt. Rev. John W. Shaw, coadjutor Bishop of San Antonio, founded this parish in 1911 to serve the Spanish speaking families living in San Antonio's west sector. The church was dedicated to the Protectress of the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Rt. Rev. Arthur J. Drossaerts, bishop of San Antonio, broke ground in 1921 for the new church on El Paso Street. The Jesuit Fathers of the New Orleans Province were invited to take over the parish by Bishop Drossaerts in 1932 and have ministered in the community since that time. Theresian Sisters, who had fled from Mexico due to the revolution in 1910, were in charge of the parish school until 1916 and were succeeded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who continued until 1985. In 1985, the parish school at Guadalupe Church was closed as six parishes on the west side together opened Westside Catholic School near Immaculate Conception Church. Westside Catholic, renamed Our Lady of Peace in 2000, closed it's doors in 2007. Fr. Carmelo Tranchese, S.J., was the first Jesuit pastor and worked valiantly to improve conditions in the Guadalupe neighborhood, which was known as one of the nation's worst slums. He was influential in securing public housing legislation for constructing the "Alazan Courts" (in 1937-1938) to provide housing for 932 low-income families. In March of 1939, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt came to Guadalupe church to review the new housing project. Fr. Tranchese personally escorted her on a walking tour through the muddy streets so that she would not forget what she saw. The parish continues its ministry to a low-income community that is mostly Mexican-American.
Good Friday Via Crucis
The Via Crucis, or The Way of the Cross, is a live reenactment of the Passion of Christ, which takes place on the streets of our neighborhood - mostly going through Alazan Apache Courts. The reenactment is a powerful experience. Photos by Nicholas Collura.
