The annual archdiocesan Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe will be celebrated Sunday, December 10, 2000 at 3:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen at 5200 North Charles Street in Baltimore. His Excellency Oscar Rodríguez, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, will be principal celebrant. Cardinal William H. Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, will preside and Bishop Gordon D. Bennett, S.J., Vicar for Hispanic Ministry in the archdiocese, will concelebrate.
The festive Mass will be preceded by a bilingual dramatization of the Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Guadalupe beginning at 2:00 p.m. Children from the local Hispanic community will participate in a procession immediately prior to the Mass wearing traditional costumes that reflect the different countries and cultures which make up the rich diversity of Baltimore’s Hispanic community.
In this colorful celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the local Hispanic community seeks to celebrate the symbolic heart of its own culture and religious experience, to protect the dignity and sacredness of human life, and promote the reconciliation of all peoples.
New this year will be the inaugural presentation of the archdiocesan Most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe Medal of Honor. This new award is intended to recognize significant contribution and service to the Hispanic Catholic community in the archdiocese. Sister Mary Neil Corcoran, R.S.M., Director of the Hispanic Apostolate, will receive the medal during the Mass for her work at the Hispanic Apostolate over the past 25 years. The Hispanic Apostolate offices are located 430 S. Broadway, in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore.
Archbishop Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on December 29, 1942. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 28, 1970, and was consecrated as a bishop on December 8, 1978. He has been Archbishop of Tegucigalpa since January 8, 1993. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998, the archbishop led Honduran recovery efforts on behalf of the government.
Media are invited to attend. A media availability with Cardinal Keeler and Archbishop Rodriguez is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (promptly) in the parish center behind to the Cathedral. Archbishop Rodriguez speaks English well. Point of contact is Ray Kempisty at pager number 410-351-2696.