Print Issue: September 26, 2002

Juan Diego Canonization Celebration Crosses Cultural Lines

Angela Rodriguez, 13, and her brother Javier, 4, stand by the Puerto Rican flag as they wait for the liturgical procession to start for the eucharistic celebration in honor of St. Juan Diego at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta. The Rodriguez children attend St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro. (Photos by Michael Alexander) Martin Angel, 13, and his mother, Monica, stand by the Mexican flag prior to the eucharistic celebration in honor of St. Juan Diego at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta. Father Richard Kieran, foreground, listens to the homily during the July 31 Mass at St. Pius X High School. Father Kieran has been a longtime supporter of the Hispanic community.

ATLANTA - A pageant of colorful flags, carried by individuals representing all the countries of the Hispanic apostolate in the archdiocese flapped in the warm summer evening as more than 500 of the faithful turned out for the celebration of the canonization of Juan Diego. The event was held at the St. Pius X High School football stadium field July 31.

Flanking the canopied altar area were two towering paintings, 5 yards high by 3 yards wide, depicting scenes and symbols of the Mexican countryside. A large picture of St. Juan Diego and the Blessed Mother was displayed prominently before the crowd.

As the sun began setting through the clouds, the ceremony began. The smoke of incense wafted over the audience as a procession of dozens of priests, flag carriers and banner holders marched around the stadium track.

Father Jaime Molina-Juarez, MNM, a Mexican native who serves as a priest at St. Thomas the Apostle, Smyrna, gave the homily in Spanish, while Msgr. David Talley and Msgr. Frank J. Giusta read the archbishop's greetings in English, then in Spanish.

Father Victor Reyes, pastor of St. Michael's, Gainesville blessed a picture of the saint with Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Father Dan Stack, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, Cartersville, told the crowd in English, "Juan Diego was not only Mexican, not only American, not only Indian, but a Catholic saint, a saint that belongs to all of us. May we have the grace to follow his example."

Sister Margarita Martin, ACJ, said that the story of Juan Diego and his simple, working-class background and his strong belief in Mary gives him a special bond with many of Latino ancestry.

"The brothers and sisters find a rootedness and kinship with him . . . it's a pride that also a fellow citizen has been recognized as a saint," she said.

But those who are not Hispanic also enjoyed the celebration, which featured singing and folk dancing after the Mass.

"It is very nice to have this devotion to the blessed Mother . . . and (also) that we have events that really bring together the Hispanic and Anglo community," said Martha Gross, a parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta.

Father Victor Reyes, pastor of St. Michael's Church, Gainesville, speaks of the importance of the occasion as he stands by an image of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Seven-year-old Eduardo Castrejon of St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Smyrna, is small in stature, but he brings a big singing voice to the post-Mass celebration. A group of Hispanic parishioners from Church of the Good Shepherd, Cumming, pose following the July 31 Mass to mark the canonization of Juan Diego. Several priests from around the Archdiocese of Atlanta join the sizeable congregation on hand for the outdoor Mass celebrating the canonization of Juan Diego. Marcelo, left, and Juan Pablo Diaz, of St. Patrick's Church, Norcross, show off their devotion for Our Lady of Guadalupe on July 31, the day Juan Diego was canonized.