DALTON—Hundreds of believers cheered “Viva!” heard across the parking lots of Heritage Point Park as the emcee called out “Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!”

Friends and members of St. Joseph Church filled this park on Saturday, Dec. 10, bundled with gloves, earmuffs and winter coats as the temperature hovered from the 20s to the low 40s during the daylong community festival.

The celebration blended the religious feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe—with the iconic image displayed on sweatshirts, posters and a flower-covered shrine—and Mexican culture, as youngsters swirled in folk dances, musicians performed before a thick crowd of spectators, and teenaged girls paraded in the bright dresses worn at their coming-of-age quinceañera celebrations.

This year’s celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe was the first moved from the parish grounds to the city park. It was a milestone year for the faith community on the northwestern edge of the archdiocese as it marked its 75th anniversary.

Despite temperatures in the upper 20s, over 1,000 people showed their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe when they came out for the procession to kick off the festival at Heritage Point Park in Dalton. Photo By Michael Alexander

One of the longest lines at the festival was for pupusas, a traditional dish of handmade corn tortillas. Keli Espitia waited for her meal. For her, the day was a perfect blend to spotlight faith and culture.

“It brings the community together. It’s the dancing, the food, and all the community,” said Espitia, a parishioner who works in the court system assisting crime victims.

Espitia also is devoted to the Virgin Mary. “I have a Mother that is in heaven, who is always there for us, like she was 500 years ago,” she said.

Serving new immigrants

As at its founding, the parish of St. Joseph today serves immigrants in this corner of the state, some 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Catholic history there begins before the Civil War, as Irish immigrants worked on the railroad connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tennessee. A school, the Catholic Academy, was open for five years. The first mention of St. Joseph Church appeared in a local newspaper in 1875. But by 1901, the community dwindled and the parish was declared inactive.

Forty years later, the parish was revived under the leadership of missionaries of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, often known as the Redemptorists. Priests from the religious order staffed the parish until 1967.

With its history of carpet making, the area around Dalton has been shaped by the influx of Hispanics into the community for jobs over the past 40 years. Government statistics report nearly one out of four residents speaks a language other than English at home, which is nearly double the statewide rate. More than nine out of 10 immigrants come from Catholic-rich Latin America.

Before the procession for the Our Lady of Guadalupe festival at Heritage Point Park in Dalton gets underway, Anthony Martinez, 12, tries to stay warm under frigid conditions by performing with the St. Joseph Church dance troupe among the crowd. Photo By Michael Alexander

The parish reflects that. Pastor Father Paul Williams said almost 90 percent of St. Joseph’s members are Latino, with four weekend Masses celebrated in Spanish, two in English and one bilingual Mass.

“We could build ‘Second Catholic of Dalton’ tomorrow and fill it to the brim,” he said.

There are about 600 baptisms a year, 550 youngsters celebrating first Communion, and about 250 teenagers being confirmed, he said.

Father Williams has been the pastor for seven years and is assisted by parochial vicars Father Duvan González and Father Tim Nadolski. In that time, the community established a mission of St. Toribio Romo in Chatsworth in adjacent Murray County. Mass first took place in a mobile home with space for 75 people, but the mission now fills a renovated car dealership with some 1,000 worshippers. Efforts are underway to convert the garage into a southwestern Spanish-mission-style sanctuary. Another ministry underway is serving a growing Guatemalan Catholic community.

While the parish serves many, thousands remain to be reached, Father Williams said. In 2015, the parish began to broadcast from WSEF-LP at 99.5 FM, a St. Joseph radio station, to share Mass, evangelization and immigration outreach. “Angels of St. Joseph” ministers since 2014 to special needs children, assisting dozens of youngsters to receive the sacraments.

“We were doing Pope Francis before Pope Francis,” Father Williams said.

Community coming together

At the Dec. 10 festival, hundreds came out two days before the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The celebration started with a parade of banner-carrying ministries, riders on horseback, a tractor-trailer with its grill covered in a rendering of the well-known image of the pregnant Virgin who appeared in 1531 to Juan Diego. The apparition took place on a hill outside of present day Mexico City and the miraculous image imprinted on the tilma or cloak of Diego is preserved in the basilica there. The Virgin of Guadalupe is honored as the patroness of Mexico and of all the Americas. Men shouldered a large icon of the Virgin around the park to lead off the festivities.

Efrain Chacon had a large button on his lapel of the face of the Virgin Mary.

“It’s a celebration that is done in Mexico year after year. I’m excited that it starts here in Dalton,” he said.

For him, the celebration of Mass in the park was the highlight of the day.

“The Eucharist for us is Jesus,” he said. “Everything else is the community coming together.”

Standing under a food tent (foreground, left to right) Evita Ortega and Dora Sofia Valle prepare pupusas, a food item traditional to El Salvador, which consist of a corn tortilla with a filling of cheese, beans or pork. Photo By Michael Alexander

These celebrations are important for the young people to see, especially those born and raised in the United States, so they know the culture and values of their heritage, he said.

Maria Paniagua and her teenaged daughter, Jessica, bundled up in heavy coats and hats to stay warm as they sold the $1 tickets used to buy food, books and other items. They set up in the park before the parade was underway. The fundraiser will help the parish pay for a children’s playground on its campus.

Paniagua, who has been at the parish for more than 20 years, said the celebration of the Virgin Mary means a lot as a parent herself. “People say she’s a mother for all of us. She’s like a helper. I feel safe if I pray to her, especially for my girls.”

Jessica said the event shows how the community reveres the holiday. “People sacrificed because it’s so cold and here they come to celebrate.”