Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory has announced that the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be celebrated in the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 11, this year.

In a letter to priests and deacons, he noted that this celebration is of “great importance” to Catholics in the archdiocese. However, this year the traditional Guadalupe feast day, Dec. 12, coincides with Gaudete Sunday in Advent, and no other feast or solemnity can be celebrated on the Sundays of Advent.

In the letter, citing number 374 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Archbishop Gregory said, “I am authorizing the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. I encourage parishes in the Archdiocese to make use of this day to celebrate their devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”