will honor patron
saint on Sunday
Procession will honor Our Lady
of Guadalupe in Freehold Borough
Hispanic community
will honor patron
saint on Sunday
By clare marie celano
Staff Writer
Home, for many people, is where the heart is. For hundreds of members of the Hispanic community in Freehold Borough and surrounding towns, "home" will be at the St. Rose Parish Center, Throckmorton Street, on Sunday as the community prepares to celebrate the feast day of Mexico’s patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
According to Cecilia Reynolds, of Freehold, who has worked on preparations for the feast day for the last two years, Hispanic residents will feel the comfort and memory of their homes of origin as they celebrate the feast day of the saint to which they have an enormous devotion.
To honor the saint, Reynolds said, participants will gather at 9 a.m. in the gym of the parish center to prepare for the procession that will take the life-sized framed painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the parish center through the streets of the borough, and finally to St. Rose of Lima Church, McLean Street.
She said the day will begin with a tribute to the saint which will include special dances and prayers.
The procession, to be led by the Hispanic community’s leader, the Rev. Roman Modino, will also include representation from the Freehold Borough Police Department and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Members of the Hispanic community will carry the framed icon along with a framed painting of Juan Diego, a recently canonized saint from Mexico, to the church where a celebratory mass will be held.
"We bought the framed painting last year from the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City, with the help of the whole community. Everyone is so happy that we have her here with us now," Reynolds said, adding that the $2,500 framed painting was purchased under the leadership of the Rev. George Berrios, the previous religious leader of the borough’s Hispanic community.
Reynolds said families will be bringing gifts, including bread, wine and flowers, to offer in honor of the saint during the offertory portion of the Mass.
"This is a very special occasion for us," Reynolds explained, adding that people in Mexico sometimes travel on foot for days in order to participate in the procession at the Basilica in Mexico City to show their devotion to a saint who, Reynolds explained, "brought Christianity to Mexico."
Last year’s procession in the borough saw more than 500 people walking the statue to the church. This year, Reynolds expects the attendance to be about the same, as members walk the icon from Throckmorton Street to West Main Street, to McLean and Randolph streets, ending at the church.
After the celebration of the mass, Reynolds said participants will walk back to the parish center where local families will be preparing food and a "get together" in honor of the day.