On Saturday Dec. 11, St. Patrick Church hosted a prayer service and celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Members of our local Hispanic community, area parishioners, St. Patrick Catholic School families, Newman Center students of Missouri S&T, and other Rolla area residents came together for this meaningful and powerful celebration of Catholic Hispanic culture.

Traditionally, a three-hour vigil is held in honor of the Virgin. The vigil concludes at midnight, followed by food, drinks, music, and dancing. The event at St. Patrick’s began at 9pm with a prayer service led by Fr. Greg Meystrik, with the meal and music beginning within the hour. As midnight approached, the mariachi band continued to play as attendees formed a line to visit the shrine of Mother Mary and lay a carnation at her feet.

St. Patrick’s thanks parish families and local businesses whose enormous support made the celebration possible:

The Garcia family
The Moreno family
The Obrist family
The Leon family
The Guerrero-Donoso family
The Keys and Gomez de la Casa families
El Maguey Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
Los Arcos Mexican Food and Tequila Bar
Figo’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
Memory Lane Flowers