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MERCEDES — Father Rene Angel of Sacred Heart Catholic Church has found a new use for the enormous altar he had made for Día De Los Muertos.
In observance of Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, the priest removed all signs of the former ofrenda and converted the 25-foot tall altar into a tribute to the patron saint of Mexico.
“For us, it is to remember the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe — to remember how Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Blessed Mother Mary, is close to us,” Angel said. “She’s showing us her love and always is protecting us. We believe that in the Catholic faith. Our Lady of Guadalupe is always with us.”
Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe is an important day for Catholic faithful. The day commemorates the moment when the Virgin Mary appeared before the indigenous man, San Juan Diego, on the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico on Dec. 12, 1531.
It is believed by many that the Virgin Mary sent Diego to the local bishop with roses from Tepeyac Hill and urged him to build a church on the hilltop that had previously been a place of worship for the Aztecs. Diego carried the roses in his cloak to the bishop, and when he opened his cloak it was imprinted with the now ubiquitous image of the Virgin Mary.
Diego’s cloak with the Virgen De Guadalupe, which is displayed at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, is believed to be an acheiropoieta — an image that has miraculously come into existence without human hands.
For Angel, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe is of special significance to him due to his own personal relationship with the Blessed Mother.
“When I was ordained as a priest, I was ordained on a Saturday afternoon,” the priest recalled. “Then on Sunday morning in Mexico City, I went to the Basilica of Guadalupe and celebrated Holy Mass there for 10,000 people. I commended to her my priesthood, and she has taken care of me the whole time.”
“I am very close to her in that sense,” he added. “When we talk about images of the Holy Virgin, the one I prefer is Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is very close to my heart. She is protecting me. I feel her protection.”
It’s that close relationship that inspired Angel to redecorate the altar for Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. The altar depicts the moment San Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary. A statue of Diego stands holding a bundle of roses before the Virgen De Guadalupe, who serves as the centerpiece at the top of the altar. She stands in front of a banner with the colors of the Mexican flag, and directly above her is a crown floating over her head.
The altar also features over 400 flowers, including multiple bundles of roses of all colors.
“The crown represents Mary as the Queen of the Universe,” Angel said. “As Jesus is the King, she is the Queen. We have the Mexican flag in the back, but Our Lady of Guadalupe is not only for Mexicans. She is for everybody. Our Lady of Guadalupe is Queen of Mexico and Empress of the whole Americas.”
The priest said that the altar will only be on display until Wednesday. He will then take it down and begin working on a new altar depicting the nativity scene for Christmas.
“Sadly, because we need the nativity scene, (Wednesday) we are going to bring this down,” Angel said. “We will finish with the Holy Mass (Tuesday) afternoon, and tomorrow it is going to be gone. It is very sad because I love it. It’s just beautiful.”
