CHARLOTTE — Celebrating 20 years as a symbol of hope for the immigrant Latino community living in the U.S., this year the Guadalupana Torch Run once again visited the parishes of the Diocese of Charlotte carrying its message of union between two nations divided by a border. The torch, escorted by images of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego, was greeted with dances, songs, prayers, cheers and praise on the afternoon of Nov. 8 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte.
From there, the torch was transferred to St. Francis of Assisi Church in Mocksville, Divine Redeemer Church in Boonville, St. Mary Church in Greensboro and Our Lady of the Highway Church in Thomasville.
The race is organized by the Tepeyac Association, a non-profit organization founded in September 1997 and based in New York that brings together more than 40 community associations with the mission of promoting the social development and human rights of Latino immigrants in the U.S.
The torch, which is carried by more than 7,000 runners from nine Mexican states and 14 from the U.S., started on Sept. 4 at 7 a.m. from the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The final destination of the Guadalupana Torch is Central Park in New York City, where it will arrive on Dec. 12, the feast day of the “Virgen Morena del Tepeyac.”
