{"id":64310,"date":"2025-12-18T14:16:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/64310\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:16:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:16:09","slug":"parishes-across-the-diocese-of-scranton-honor-our-lady-of-guadalupe-diocese-of-scranton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/64310\/","title":{"rendered":"Parishes across the Diocese of Scranton honor Our Lady of Guadalupe \u2013 Diocese of Scranton"},"content":{"rendered":"

EAST STROUDSBURG\u2013 The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated widely across the Diocese of Scranton this month, as parishes gathered to honor the Blessed Mother under her title as Patroness of the Americas.<\/p>\n

Observed annually on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates the appearances of the Blessed Mother to Juan Diego in 1531.<\/p>\n

\"\"Faithful from Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg hold a procession throughout the borough on Dec. 14. (Photo\/Dan Piazza)<\/p>\n

Her image, miraculously imprinted on the tilma of Juan Diego, became a powerful sign of God\u2019s love and mercy, leading to the spread of the Gospel throughout the Americas.<\/p>\n

Nearly 500 years later, her message continues to inspire prayer, unity, and hope.
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, joined the faithful for three major celebrations in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and East Stroudsburg. Each event highlighted the deep devotion Hispanic Catholics hold for Our Lady of Guadalupe and the rich faith they bring to the Church.<\/p>\n

Families Celebrate in Scranton<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Dec. 7, Bishop Bambera celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter with the faithful of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish. The Mass, held at 12:15 p.m., was followed by a festive cultural celebration across the street at the Diocesan Pastoral Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hispanic members of our community have a great love for Our Lady of Guadalupe,\u201d Father Jonathan Kuhar, pastor of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish, said. \u201cEven though she appeared in Mexico, it was for the benefit of all the peoples of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Prior to the Liturgy of the Eucharist at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass in Scranton on Dec. 7, 2025, in a reenactment, Juan Diego presents his tilma to Bishop Bambera at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a big thing for us. We love it,\u201d parishioner Esau Orellana said. \u201cWe all come together for this Mass. It was beautiful \u2013 the music and the songs. The Cathedral was full of people and we love seeing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the afternoon, families gathered to share food, music, dance, and even a reenactment of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re showing the story on how this all started and how she represents Mexico, Mariah Coplin, who played Our Lady of Guadalupe, explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a beautiful moment, especially for the young kids,\u201d Luis Coplin, who played the local bishop, added. \u201cIt was very beautiful to have all the people see the history of their country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, nobody believed Juan Diego. Everybody said he was crazy,\u201d Jose Antonio Galdamez Cortez reflected, thinking about the character he portrayed in the reenactment. \u201cWe planned this for about a month. It was a lot of hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citywide Witness of Hope in Wilkes-Barre<\/p>\n

On Friday, Dec. 12, Bishop Bambera joined the faithful of Saint Nicholas-Saint Mary Parish in Wilkes-Barre for Mass at 6 p.m. at Saint Nicholas Church and a reception afterward.<\/p>\n

The celebration began with a large public procession through city streets at 4 p.m., drawing participants of all ages who braved the cold weather to walk, pray, sing, and dance in honor of the Blessed Mother.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hundreds of faithful hold a procession through the streets of Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Photos\/Mike Melisky)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe procession was just beautiful,\u201d parishioner Adriana Sosa said. \u201cIt is our way to show our appreciation to her, showing our love for her in this cold weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many, Our Lady of Guadalupe represents comfort and hope, especially for those facing hardship.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe appeared to Juan Diego. He was the poorest of them all. He was at rock bottom,\u201d Sosa added. \u201cShe gives us hope that no matter who we are, she will be there for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parishioner Michelle Bazan noted the importance of teaching younger generations about the devotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been carried on for nearly 500 years,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t pass that on to future generations, it will eventually get lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is honestly one of my favorite days of the year,\u201d parishioner Luz Castro added. \u201cFrom the ma\u00f1anitas in the morning, to the procession, to the Mass, and then having food and the community together, all to show our love to Our Lady of Guadalupe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faith perseveres through the storm<\/p>\n

Despite heavy snowfall and strong winds, the faithful of Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg gathered on Sunday, Dec. 14, for an outdoor procession followed by Mass with Bishop Bambera.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cold out \u2013 but it shows our culture and how we express it,\u201d parishioner Adriel Lopez said. \u201cI just like seeing everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants from many cultural backgrounds walked together, praying the rosary and honoring Our Lady.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel like we\u2019re one big happy family,\u201d parishioner Rey Pomaquiza Morocho said.<\/p>\n

Deacon Angel Luis Rivera reflected on the deeper meaning of the celebration.
\u201cShe brought two cultures together \u2013 the Spanish culture and the Indigenous people,\u201d he said. \u201cShe is our mother. It is bringing our faith to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also expressed gratitude for the Bishop\u2019s presence in the Poconos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bishop is the father of the Diocese,\u201d Deacon Rivera added. \u201cIt is so lovely that our Bishop has time to spend with us. I love the fact that he takes that time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EAST STROUDSBURG\u2013 The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated widely across the Diocese of Scranton this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-64310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}