11-December-07

TO:  ALL MEDIA, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, PATRONESS OF THE AMERICAS, CELEBRATION, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12^TH, 5 A.M. AND 7 P.M.,         

ST. JOAN OF ARC PARISH (3801 E. GREENWAY, PHOENIX)

Bi-lingual Christmas Concert, Friday, December 14^th, 7 p.m.

 PHOENIX, AZ— Parochial Vicar, Rev. Oscar Gutierrez, invites all Arizonans to two special Masses in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Americas, Wednesday, December 12^th at St. Joan of Arc Parish.  The first service will begin at 5 a.m. with Native American dancers and include Mariachi music during the Mass.  A similar Mass will be held at 7 p.m. in the Church, 3801 E. Greenway Road (just east of the Piestewa Parkway).  For additional information call the Parish Office, 602 867-9171.   

“As Catholic Christians we believe that in 1531 a ‘Lady from Heaven’ appeared to a humble Native American, Juan Diego, at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.  At that time, the Lady asked Juan Diego to build a Church on the spot where they were talking,” Father Gutierrez explained.  “The local Bishop did not believe Juan’s story and asked for a miraculous sign.  When Juan returned to the Lady she filled his cloak with roses, ‘though it was December.  When he opened his cloak to show the Bishop the roses, there was a second miracle.  Our Lady had miraculously imprinted an image of herself on the native's tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth.  By the laws of physics, this should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 476 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin. We invite all people of faith to join us in our Feast on December 12^th.”

 “In 1521, the capital city of the Aztec empire fell to Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, nine million Aztecs, who professed for centuries a polytheistic religion which included human sacrifice, converted to Christianity. What happened to produce such an incredible and historically unprecedented conversion?  We believe it was the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother, appearing as Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Father Gutierrez concluded.

The Church will also host a Christmas concert on Friday, December 14^th at 7 p.m. in the Church.  Choirs from both English and Spanish Masses will perform.

The St. Joan of Arc Campus is located at 3801 E. Greenway in Phoenix, two blocks east of the 51 Freeway.  St. Joan of Arc is the fourth largest Catholic Community in the Diocese of Phoenix with more than 4500 families registered.  This news release is an in-kind donation to the Diocese of Phoenix from B/PR.

For additional media information, please contact Carole V. Bartholomeaux, B/PR, 602 404 8018 or Carole@b-pr.com.