Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, December 12, in collaboration with St. Peter’s Catholic Church of Washington, the national Defend the Dream campaign will hold a procession to Capitol Hill in solidarity with immigrants following their mass celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Feast of Our Lady was declared as a Day of Unity with Dreamers by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the D.C. Church urges lawmakers to pass the Dream Act by the end of the year.
Location: St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 313 2nd St SE, Washington DC, 20003
Mass: 12:10 PM
Procession: 12:45 PM
Tuesday’s mass will feature a testimony by a local DC Dreamer, in addition to the homily by Bishop Mario Dorsonville – auxiliary of Archdiocese of Washington and an immigrant himself from Colombia. Drawing from the “Miracle of the Roses” theme that is central to the Our Lady of Guadalupe story, after mass faith leaders, Dreamers and community members will process to Capitol Hill carrying 122 roses in representation of the 122 Dreamers who continue to lose their DACA status each day that Congress fails to pass the Dream Act. The CASA congregation will also deliver roses to the office of Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA).
As the patron saint of Mexico and the Patroness of the Americas, the Virgin of Guadalupe is revered by thousands of Mexican and Latin American immigrants throughout the US. She is seen as a powerful symbol of social justice and a moral champion for marginalized communities. For example, labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez always used the Virgin of Guadalupe banner at the front of the United Farm Workers’ historic pilgrimages to draw attention to the plight of farm workers. This year in the spirit of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a procession to the US Capitol is organized by immigrant rights groups to call on Congress to pass a clean Dream Act by the end of the year.