> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bklyner.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Latino Catholics Celebrate Feast Of Our Lady Of Guadalupe At Saint Finbar’s [Photos] - URL: https://bklyner.com/the-feast-of-lady-of-guadalupe-in-bensonhurst-bensonhurst/ - Published: 2015-12-15T15:51:27.000Z - Updated: 2015-12-15T16:47:32.000Z - Author: Carmen Molina Tamacas - Tags: Bensonhurst, Kids & Family, News, Nonsponsored, Photos, Western Brooklyn, catholic, guatemalans, latino catholics, Mexican, saint finbar roman catholic church, #wp ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7839-e1450189022761.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean On Saturday, December 12, for the first time, I joined the mass and procession at [Saint Finbar Roman Catholic Church](http://www.stfinbarbrooklyn.org/?ref=bklyner.com) for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the largest celebrations for Catholic Latinos. Most years, it is too cold for my children to stay outdoors, particularly at night, but having this almost-spring weather allowed us to enjoy this ancient tradition that recalls the Apparition of the Mother of God during the 16th Century to an indigenous Mexican named [Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan%5FDiego?ref=bklyner.com) (1474-1548). ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7841.jpg) The Mass was in Spanish, by Monsignor Faustino Cordero. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) Oral tradition says that the Virgin held four apparitions for Juan Diego and she had brown skin and eyes, drawing many indigenous Mexican people to embrace Catholicism. The final miracle is said to have occurred on December 12th, 1531 on a mountain named Tepeyac, the same place where Mexicans worshiped a female deity named Tonatzin. The Catholic Church re-contextualized both icons, Tonatzin and Holy Mary, into the Virgin of Guadalupe, a sign to many that she was taking care of her sons and daughters in the New World. Indeed, there is a famous painting of the Apparition currently on display at the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](http://www.metmuseum.org/?ref=bklyner.com): the 1773 oil from Spanish artist Nicolás Enríquez called [“The Virgin of Guadalupe and Four Apparitions,”](http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/635401?ref=bklyner.com) which is considered a widely venerated sacred image in New Spain. However, a critical look to those events points to the fact that the Catholic Church used a brown-skinned image of the Mother of God to spread the faith and placate the polytheistic cosmology of indigenous peoples in the Americas. ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7836.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean The celebration of the Brown Virgin (*Virgen Morena*) takes place every December all over Mexico and Latin America with a huge pilgrimage, and in New York, there are several parishes with Latino members that organize a special mass and procession. In Bensonhurst, Saint Finbar Church has one of the largest Hispanic congregations; they [participated in the Columbus Parade](/mixed-feelings-about-celebrating-columbus-for-indigenous-guatemalans-in-southern-brooklyn/) in October, and on Saturday, worshipers filled the lower church where a special altar was placed for the Virgin’s image with flowers, religious icons and *estandartes*. ![catholic procession](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7842-e1450188953749.jpg) The altar inside the lower church at St. Finbar. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7833.jpg) Children dress in traditional attire. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7838.jpg) Children dress in traditional attire. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) As a tradition, families may wear indigenous costumes. Little boys dress up as Juan Diego — who was declared Saint in 1990 by Pope John Paul II — with white shirt, pants, and traditional accessories such as palm hats, sandals, *cacaxtles* (ancient backpacks), mustaches, and *morrales —* a burlap bag. Girls may wear colorful *huipiles* (blouses) and *refajos* (skirts), with braids in their hair and baskets. For many of us, this event is a lifelong memory that repeats every year. We have pictures of ourselves in indigenous costumes from other centuries and now our children do the same. ![ The author with her cousins in 1978. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean)](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7792.jpg) The author (center) with her cousins in 1978\. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) The mass was conducted in Spanish by Monsignore Faustino Cordero and there were special offerings, including artisanal clay pots with Mariachi hats and a doll dressed with the Mexican flag colors. Finally, a group of runners dressed in Virgen de Guadalupe track suits lit an Olympics-style torch to begin the procession. On a bed of roses, the Virgin was marched through streets of Bensonhurst, soon to be honored with traditional Mexican dances and food. ![Artisanal clay pots with Mariachi hats and a dolls dressed with the Mexican flag’s colors. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean)](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7840.jpg) Artisanal clay pots with Mariachi hats and a dolls dressed with the Mexican flag’s colors. (Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean) ![saint finbar procession](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7837.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7831.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7832.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean ![Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_7835.jpg) Photo by Carmen Molina Tamacas/Bensonhurst Bean