Led by the light of the Guadalupe Torch, a procession of people and two large images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego were welcomed to Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville Tuesday night. The torch is on a 2,500-mile pilgrimage from Mexico City to New York, and will stop at seven churches in the Diocese of Charlotte along the way. (César Hurtado | Catholic News Herald)
HENDERSONVILLE — A special torch honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe arrived in the Diocese of Charlotte Tuesday evening – one stop along a 2,500-mile journey from Mexico City to New York City.
The Antorcha Guadalupana (Guadalupe Torch Run) is a relay pilgrimage that travels each year through Mexico and the United States in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Marian fire symbolizes the light of faith, the love of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the hope of an immigrant community divided by a shared border.
The torch left the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Mexican capital of Mexico City on Aug. 30 and will reach St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Over the next six days, the torch is traveling to seven parishes in the Charlotte diocese before continuing its journey Sunday up the East Coast.
In Hendersonville, hundreds of people welcomed the arrival of the Guadalupe Torch at Immaculate Conception Church Tuesday night with songs and prayers.
A convoy with runners carrying the torch, along with large paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego transported on a trailer, arrived from St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Simpsonville, S.C.
Close to a hundred runners carried the flame along U.S. Highway 25 for 56 miles leading into Hendersonville.
The procession stopped in the church parking lot, where the faithful gathered to sing and pray to the Virgin of Tepeyac – the name for Mary that refers to her appearance to a Native American man named Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City in 1531. Also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, she has become a beloved national symbol of Mexico and the basilica built to commemorate her apparition is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.
In a procession led by the light of the torch, the large icons of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego were then brought to the entrance of the church, where they were received by Father Nohé Torres, parochial vicar of the parish.
Using the torch’s flame, Father Torres lit the Paschal candle. It will remain lit until the next stage of the torch’s journey, when it will be used to relight the torch before it departs.
After the welcome, the paintings of Mary and St. Juan Diego were placed on either side of the altar, and the liturgy began.
In his homily, Father Torres invited the community to take advantage of the arrival of Mary and follow Jesus’ request, “to bring her to live in our hearts, in our families, and in our community.”
“We need peace and justice... Let us receive Our Lady, St. Juan Diego, and the light of the Lord… You and I are in need of comfort. What must we do? Pray and entrust ourselves to the Virgin. May she increase our faith,” he prayed.
On Wednesday, the Guadalupe Torch will go to St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville and St. Joseph Church in Newton.
Later this week the pilgrimage will travel to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Charlotte, St. Francis of Assisi in Mocksville, Our Lady of the Rosary in Lexington, St. Mary’s in Greensboro, Our Lady of the Highways in Thomasville, and Immaculate Heart of Mary in High Point.
— César Hurtado
