Intercultural Marian Celebration planned

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Depictions of Our Lady are shown at the Cathedral of the Madeleine after the 2019 Intercultural Marian Celebration.

SALT LAKE CITY – After a year’s hiatus because of the pandemic, the diocese’s traditional Marian Celebration is set to take place on Oct. 9 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden.

The month of October is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, one of the many titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, it’s appropriate that every October the Diocese of Salt Lake City honors Our Lady with an Intercultural Marian Celebration, which celebrates Our Lady and her many titles with representations of the Virgin from around the world.

This year’s celebration will take place at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden “because St. Joseph is the husband of Mary and this year is the year of Saint Joseph,” said Maria Cruz Gray, director of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, which every year organizes the Intercultural Marian Celebration.

“What a wonderful opportunity to invite all of us to a celebration in honor of St. Joseph’s wife,” Gray said.

Each year the Intercultural Marian Celebration highlights one specific representation of Our Lady. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Legion of Mary, so members of the Legion will lead the Intercultural Marian Celebration procession, Gray said.

To make the celebration a success, a planning committee gathers each month to make the arrangements. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the past year the gatherings were canceled. On the last weekend of July, however, some of the committee members met at the diocesan Pastoral Center to tune up the details for the occasion.

The gathering started with a prayer invoking Our Lady’s protection and guidance for the celebration. Among the parishes represented at the meeting were the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sacred Heart, St. Mary of the Assumption, St. Joseph the Worker, St. Francis Xavier and Sts. Peter and Paul.

Fr. Joshua Santos, the new pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Ogden, is overseeing the celebration, which will bring hundreds of people of various cultures and ethnicities to his parish. The procession will include banners and images of the different representations of the Virgin from many countries of the world.

“We have the many apparitions of our Mother: the Immaculate Conception from the United States of America, St. María de la Antigua from Panamá, Our Lady of Suyapa from Honduras, Our Lady of Coromoto from Venezuela, Our Lady of Los Angeles from Costa Rica, Our Lady of la Merced from Perú, Our Lady of Chiquinquira from Colombia, Our Lady of la Paz from El Salvador, Our Lady of Manaoag from the Philippines, Our Lady of Naju from Korea, among many others,” Gray said.

Plans for the celebration include recitation of the rosary in the different languages that the Catholics in the diocese speak. Children are welcome to dress in costumes of their native countries.

After the procession, a Mass will be celebrated. If pandemic conditions allow, a small  reception will be held. The rosary and the Mass will be multilingual.

“Everybody is invited to the Intercultural Marian Celebration. It’s time for all the Catholics to get together and celebrate our Mother,” Gray said.

WHAT: Intercultural Marian Celebration

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 9, 3-9 p.m.

WHERE: St. Joseph Catholic Church, 514 24th St., Ogden

For information, contact the Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Hispanic Ministry, 801-328-8641 ext. 332.