THE Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu will hold its first grand procession of 15 Our Lady of Guadalupe replicas owned by different devotees, today, July 15, at 5:30 p.m. after the 4 p.m. Mass.
This is in accordance with the 115th fiesta celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe tomorrow, July 16.
A nine-day novena in honor of the Virgen of Guadalupe started last July 7 and will end today.
A procession of the original image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe will be held on Sunday.
The grand procession today will be participated by the different devotees who will show their love, faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother.
According to Fr. Romeo “Dodong” Desuyo of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu, the second fiesta on Sunday is not well recognized by the Cebuanos because they think of it as the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel since the official feast day of the Our Lady of Guadalupe is on December 12.
“They should also know that the patroness of Cebu is having its second feast day — the ‘Fiesta Pasalamat,’” he added.
The Virgin Mary is dressed in red, with a blue mantle covering her head, cascading down to her feet.
Over the centuries, devotion to the Virgen of Guadalupe de Cebu spread through the island and miraculous cures and spiritual consolations were experienced by many devotees, the greatest of which was the immediate cessation of the cholera epidemic that hit Cebu in 1902, when the people of Guadalupe started a daily dawn penitential procession, invoking God’s mercy through the intercession of the Virgen of Guadalupe de Cebu.
This the Cebuanos did for 90 consecutive dawns, and the death toll ceased.
As an act of thanksgiving, the Virgin is given another feast day on July 16, to commemorate the deliverance from cholera, starting in 1902.
Father Desuyo is hopeful that the Cebuanos will join the first grand procession of the 15 replicas of the Our Lady of Guadalupe as well as the feast day tomorrow.