Photo by Julianna Leopold 

HAPEVILLE—Music and prayer filled the streets of Hapeville on Dec. 11 as the faithful from St. John the Evangelist Church gathered for the annual procession honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Father Terry Crone, pastor of St. John the Evangelist, and parochial vicar Father Duván González led the procession.  

Father Duván González, parochial vicar of St. John the Evangelist Church, kneels beside a young parishioner holding a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Father González and the church’s pastor, Father Terry Crone, standing, led a procession on Dec. 11 to commemorate the apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego. Photo by Julianna Leopold

“I’ve always had a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Father Crone said. “I’m grateful to celebrate here today.”  

Families walked together carrying roses, candles and statues of the Virgin Mary while they sang traditional hymns. The procession marked the beginning of celebrations for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, observed on Dec. 12.  

The tradition dates to 1531, when the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico. For many Mexican and other Latino and Hispanic Catholics, the celebration is an expression of culture and identity. 

Members of the parish’s danza group accompanied the procession, with their drums and movements echoing down North Fulton Avenue.  

For Father Gonzalez, celebrating with families meant celebrating “an immigrant community, their faith, their traditions, their religiosity,” and especially their “love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”