Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration Held Entirely at San Marco Catholic Church

Catholics of Mexican descent celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sunday, as they have since 2010 – but this year’s celebration was different.  

Last year, and for many years past, hundreds of worshippers have marched from Kretch’s Restaurant on Bald Eagle Drive to San Marco Catholic Church, where they enjoyed dances from a troupe of colorful Aztec dancers, attended a Mass conducted in Spanish, and gathered afterwards for mariachi music, food, and drink.  

This year, though, there was no march, due to an uneasy intersection of church and state. The procession began and ended in the parking lot at San Marco. 

“Because of all the raids going on, people panicked, and they didn’t want to walk,” said Maya Martinez-Ruiz, one of the principal organizers of the Our Lady of Guadalupe observances.  

The two dozen dancers of Quetzalcoatl Danza, resplendent in peacock plumes, feathers, sparkles, and ankle bracelets made of seashells, danced to the rhythm of their accompanying drummers, under the leadership of Jose Luis Benitez-Moreno, known as “Don Luis.”  

Those who were not dancing were kept busy praying the Rosary, chanting a total of 50 Hail Marys, 10 Our Fathers, and reciting 10 rounds of Glory Be, led by Martinez and others of the eight families, the “Grupo Lupita,” who come together to organize the festivities.  

The statue of Our Lady, known as the “Traveling Lady” as she moves from house to house throughout the year, was borne inside her glass enclosure by a quartet of worshippers, and accompanied by several additional images of Mary. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, and both these are names or titles for Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

She is particularly venerated in Mexico since an Indian peasant reputedly encountered her in December 1531. The man who saw her, with the Spanish name of Juan Diego, was canonized by Pope John Paul II, and her basilica in Mexico City is now the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world.  

The mass in the sanctuary was conducted in Spanish by Father Benjamin Casimir of Jesus the Worker Parish in Ft. Myers, following a dance performance in the San Marco church parking lot. Father Benjamin spoke primarily in Spanish but broke occasionally into English.  

“This is a beautiful moment for everyone, to pray to the mother of our church,” he said.  

The service was punctuated by several numbers from the seven-piece Mariachi Tampa, who also entertained afterward in the parish hall, where everyone was invited for Mexican food, featuring tacos of chorizo, al pastor, and beef – “and pizza for the kids,” said Martinez. 

The Our Lady celebration at San Marco goes back to 2010, although the walk didn’t start until later. The actual day of celebration, the feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe, is December 12, but Marco Island gets a jump on the festivities because, not having a Spanish-speaking priest, they borrow a priest from Lee County. This timetable should feel familiar to anyone familiar with Marco’s early celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in March.