Our Lady of the Greenwood parishioners celebrate their 15th annual Mass honoring feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Members of the Committee of Guadalupe process into Our Lady of the Greenwood Church with a framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 10 before the start of the 15th annual solemn Mass honoring the Patroness of the Americas. The frame that holds the image was hand-carved in Mexico. (Photo by Mike Krokos)

By Mike Krokos

GREENWOOD—Manuel de la Rosa remembers the first solemn Mass held on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood in 1996.

Since he portrayed St. Juan Diego, a humble Aztec Indian to whom the Virgin Mary appeared at Tepeyac, Mexico, in 1531, it would be hard to forget.

“It was something that I really wanted to do,” recalled de la Rosa, who was a third-grade student at Our Lady of the Greenwood School at the time. “I was in a Spanish class of only about five children, and our teacher kind of introduced the idea of participating in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass. I was pretty excited to be a part of that.

“Then Martha McQueen [the chairperson of the Committee of Guadalupe] approached me personally, and asked me if I would like to represent Juan Diego at the Mass.”

Now a 23-year-old graduate student studying biology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, de la Rosa was among the more than 500 people who attended the 15th annual solemn Mass at Our Lady of the Greenwood Church honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, the “Patroness of the Americas,” on Dec. 10.

De la Rosa, who is of Filipino descent, said that the Virgin Mary continues to play a big role in his life of faith.

“One of my favorite prayers is the Hail Mary. Basically, I kind of look to Our Lady as a role model of faith, … a role model in which she is able to reach the human race and bring people to her Son,” said the 2005 graduate of Roncalli High School in Indianapolis. “That is what she has always meant to me.”

The Dec. 10 bilingual Mass included readings in both English and Spanish. As in years past, the opening procession included individuals carrying flags from countries in North, South and Central America, an offering of roses from members of various parish ministries, members of the Bishop Chatard Assembly Honor Guard of the Knights of Columbus, and Committee of Guadalupe members carrying a framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

During the Mass, children processed to the front of the church to place red roses on the steps leading to the altar, and McQueen also offered a reflection on the history of the Virgin Mary’s appearances to Juan Diego.

In his homily, Msgr. Mark Svarczkopf, the pastor of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish, said that the Blessed Virgin appeared to a native American, Juan Diego, and her message was “one of hope, one of human dignity, one of equality that all people should live together and show each other extreme dignity because they were all equally loved by God. And all of them could look to Mary as a spiritual mother.

“Mary promotes peace. She promotes justice. She promotes the human dignity of all of her children, no matter what their nationality, no matter what their customs or backgrounds,” he added. “It is one to unite us all.”

The annual solemn Mass was organized by the Committee of Guadalupe, whose members are from St. Rose of Lima, SS. Francis and Clare, St. Barnabas and Our Lady of the Greenwood parishes as well as students at Marian University and Roncalli High School.

Msgr. Svarczkopf also shared how the Committee of Guadalupe recently received a letter from officials at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City recognizing the annual celebration at Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish “in union with all the Americas,” he said.

Tom Urrutia, a member of the Committee of Guadalupe, served as the bilingual liturgical master of ceremonies. A member of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish since 1976, Urrutia’s grandfather moved from Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania and later to Indiana, where he worked as an interpreter for Eli Lilly and Company.

“I am so honored to do this,” he said of his part in the annual celebration, which has helped him appreciate and learn more about his heritage. “It has introduced me to the Virgin of Guadalupe. I [wear] a medal. Every morning, on the way to work, I pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe.” †