Back in the 16th century, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to an ordinary indigenous man in Latin America. Now on every December 12th, Catholics celebrate and honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. “This event truly changed the nation forever and is the reason behind the increasing belief in Catholicism around the world, says Ana Hicks.”

Although the celebration for this day is worldwide, it’s celebrated mostly in Mexico where they go above and beyond to celebrate this day. There are hundreds of dancers and bands that play all throughout the streets. Along with having dancers and music, the community also hosts many parades all throughout the country. 

Despite this celebration existing for over 500 years, Bishop Noll has never done anything for this special day until this year. Principal Lorenza Pastrick and Spanish teacher Ana Hicks wanted to start adding culture to Noll so they started making a plan back in October of this year. “Mrs. Pastrick brought up the idea to me and asked if I could help organize everything, I said yes because this is a very significant celebration that needs to be talked about more. I think the entire Bishop Noll community needs to start embracing their cultures and having events like this is the perfect way to make that happen, says Hicks.”

The preparation for this event wouldn’t have been as successful if it wasn’t for parent volunteers and members of the Hispanic Union club. Over the course of the past 2 months, they have been calling local businesses in hopes of donations and guidance to make this event as successful as possible. “I spent most of October calling places that would donate a statue of the Virgin, this was the most important part of the planning for this mass as it is the center for this entire celebration. Luckily, a BNI family, the Diaz’s, were kind enough to let us use their statue, said Hicks.”

After months of planning and organizing this special event, December 12th finally rolled around the corner. The celebration started with a brief Spanish and English introduction about the annual holiday. After the introduction was over, the Bishop Noll band played music while the celebrants of the mass processed in. Then mass was celebrated like normal but father spoke in both English and Spanish. After mass was over, Mrs. Pastrick did her traditional mass moment which was then followed up with a closing song by the BNI choir. When mass was over, refreshments and a sweet traditional Spanish desert was given to each of the students. 

After a successful first time celebration, principal Lorenza Pastrick hopes to make this a yearly celebration at Bishop Noll from now on. We were given the virgin statue to keep so the plan is to display it and let students bring flowers to leave by it. Students will also be given the opportunity to pray to the statue during lunch or whenever their given permission to do so, says Hicks.” The goal is that this gets students to appreciate their culture and help them grow in their faith.