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Latin American heart beats strongly in Oz at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass

byMark Bowling
12 December 2019 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 3 mins read
AA

Flowing veil: Members of the Latin American Catholic Community of Brisbane process with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at their annual Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St Finbarr’s Church, Ashgrove, last Sunday. Community members came from all over Brisbane for the Mass and celebrations that followed. Photos: Alan Edgecomb

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Flowing veil: Members of the Latin American Catholic Community of Brisbane process with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at their annual Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St Finbarr’s Church, Ashgrove, last Sunday. Community members came from all over Brisbane for the Mass and celebrations that followed. Photos: Alan Edgecomb

NATIONAL costumes and flags of the Americas heralded a vibrant feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Brisbane on December 9.

More than 500 people – members of Brisbane’s Latin American Catholic Community – filled St Finbarr’s Church, Ashgrove, for Mass followed by a celebration of music and food from most of the 16 countries that span Central and South America.

Latin America community chaplain Scalabrinian Father Ignacio Rodriguez said Our Lady of Guadalupe was significant for all the peoples of the Americas.

Devoted clergy: (Left) Fr Dante, Fr Gerry Kalinowski, Fr Ignacio Rodriguez and Deacon Ivan Ortiz at the Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day Mass at St Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Ashgrove.

“She is the Mother that protects the American continent, from Alaska to Patagonia,” Fr Rodriguez, who is originally from Mexico, said.

“We express our faith through culture. In our culture the image of the Blessed Mother is very strong.

“Especially in America the Mother plays an important role in all families. The Evangeliser is the mother, the one who transmits the faith to the children.”

According to tradition the Virgin Mary appeared four times before a Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, in December 1531. 

She was said to have asked for a church to be built on the site where she appeared, the Hill of Tepeyac. 

Eventually after a series of miraculous signs and through much persistence, Juan Diego convinced the bishop there to build the church.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City is now the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.

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The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated in the Catholic Church on December 12.

Fr Rodriguez said for a long time the largest number of Latin Americans in Brisbane came from El Salvador, but new migration patterns were starting to appear. 

For all American Catholics, Our Lady of Guadalupe is important for their faith.

Holy picture: Fr Ignacio Rodriguez receives the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe from Sebastian Gonzales and Maria Paula Leudo.

“Lately there are a lot of Colombians (coming) – it’s amazing,” he said.

“So now in our community I can see, for instance here in Ashgrove, firstly El Salvadorians, second are Colombians and then other groups – Venezuelans, Peruvians.

“If you go to the Gold Coast, most are from Colombia, a lot of international students as well, many from Uruguay too.”

“Our community is small if you compare with Filipinos or Indonesians, Vietnamese or Chinese, but even though it is smaller it is vibrant and so alive.”

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Mark Bowling

Mark is the joint winner of the Australian Variety Club 2000 Heart Award for his radio news reporting in East Timor, and has also won a Walkley award, Australia’s most-respected journalism award. Mark is the author of ‘Running Amok’ that chronicles his time as a foreign correspondent juggling news deadlines and the demands of being a husband and father. Mark is married with four children.

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