Denison Hispanic parishioners to host torch run

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Posted December 12, 2002

DENISON - Youth from St. Rose of Lima Parish will make a pilgrimage of 10 miles with the Guadalupano Torch on Dec. 15, the Great Kermes, in memory of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The group will start at 4 p.m. at St. Ann's Church in Vail with a prayer. They will run from there to St. Rose of Lima Church in Denison. The time has been calculated and unless there is snow or other weather conditions, the group should arrive in Denison for 6 p.m. Mass.

"They will leave, receive a blessing and run down L Avenue, which is all a gravel road," said Carmen Esquivel. "They will arrive in Denison with the torch. There will be a few teenagers doing this with a van following them in order to get the torch to the church."

There are between seven and ten students that will be involved in running the torch.

"So far they are very enthusiastic," said Esquivel. "They saw it as an outing. They saw it as an exciting event. They were asked to confess before they took part and take Communion during Mass. Those are the prerequisites that father did ask."

Father Jose Herrera said this is a tradition for a particular tribe of Indians, added Esquivel. They usually travel for a week to travel from where they live to Mexico City to be present at the basilica Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"Father Jose told me that this is an old custom to carry a lit torch and to travel," said Esquivel. "The continuation of this is a run pilgrimage. It is not a walked pilgrimage. The light signifies the walk of our faith and our path. The basic idea is the divinity of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the great significance that it has. Through this it is a type of sacrifice for them to arrive to the city of Mexico where the basilica is located."