Solemn Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at Immaculate Conception Church, NY

(Above) An image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Immaculate Conception church.

Yesterday a large congregation was present for the festive celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, organized by the Society of St Hugh of Cluny and made possible by the generosity of the late Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro. How inspiring to experience the return of the traditional liturgy to the “upper church” after an absence of so many decades! We have to thank this parish and in particular the indefatigable Manny Albino (who also served as subdeacon) for making this evening possible. Bill Riccio, who served as MC along with Eddy Toribio, did his accustomed magnificent work in surmounting all kinds of difficulties, major and minor, to assure the smooth and polished execution of the ceremonial. Two young priests, Fr. Robert Rodriguez (New York) and Fr. Joseph Zwosta (Brooklyn) served as celebrant and deacon, respectively – Fr. Rodriguez preached in English and Spanish. I’d also like to thank the servers, from several different parishes, who contributed their time.

Integral to this liturgy was the performance of rare music from 18th century Mexico composed by Ignacio de Jerusalem. We understand his Masses were heard, not just in Mexico City, but in the missions of California! This unusual repertoire had been graciously made available to us by a leading scholar of the music of de Jerusalem, Prof. Craig Russell. Charles Weaver did an incredible job in organizing the music for the mass and assembling the instrumentalists – and also performing himself. James Wetzel, music director at St. Vincent Ferrer, led the singers and orchestral forces with his customary professionalism and skill.

Finally, we have to thank the members of Immaculate Conception parish for organizing the festive reception after the mass. It was an appropriate conclusion to this memorable evening!

(Above) The remarkable if little known church of the Immaculate Conception (once the Episcopalian “Grace chapel”) as seen earlier that afternoon.