Thousands of people gathered on Sunday for a procession through the streets of North Park in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe — a tradition that has existed in San Diego for more than 50 years.
More than 2,000 people from nearly 40 churches across San Diego County walked alongside Aztec dancers, colorful banners and decorated floats from Morley Field Sports Complex to St. Augustine High School, where Cardinal Robert McElroy and bishops and priests of the region held a Mass.
Afterward, the celebration continued with Mexican food and mariachi music.
Sunday marked the beginning of nine days of rosary and prayers, culminating on Tuesday, Dec. 12, for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Catholic community celebrates the feast day to commemorate when the Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego in 1531.
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"Our Lady of Guadalupe really speaks to people in their hearts and especially people who are Latino or Mexican because people feel like she has chosen their land — their people — so they'll do anything for Our Lady, and they did that today," Pastor Scott Santarosa with Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which serves the neighborhoods of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights, said about the holiday's significance.
During this time, many will travel to Mexico City to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the second-most visited Catholic shrine in the world — only after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Locally, there will be a few ceremonies, with one of the biggest celebrations in Logan Heights.
