By Dorothy K. LaMantia | Correspondent

St. Mary of the Pines Church, Manahawkin, a worship site of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, was charged with joyful, reverent energy as the faithful gathered to honor the Patroness of the Americas in a Mass celebrated – fittingly – in both Spanish and English.

Sponsored by the parish’s Spanish Outreach Ministry on March 11, the Mass was highlighted by the presence of an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, brought for veneration courtesy of the Annunciation Council of the Knights of Columbus.

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Processing under the raised swords of the Knights’ Color Corps, concelebrants Msgr. Kenard Tuzeneu, pastor of St. Mary Parish, and Father Roberto Padilla, parochial vicar of St. Barnabas Parish, Bayville, followed  Joseph Lyons, district deputy of the Knights of Columbus, who carried the icon to the altar.  The gold-framed icon rested on an easel as incense rose around it.

Stating that the occasion “is a sign that God is blessing us for our outreach to the Spanish community,” the priests welcomed the congregation in both languages then alternated them for prayers and Scriptures.   Father Padillo delivered his homily in Spanish and English and reminded listeners “that whenever Mary appears, she calls us to conversion, and always presents us the path to Jesus, to Easter, and to the Kingdom of God.”

Led by cantor Antonio Aguilar, the choir for the Spanish ministry – 20 adults and children accompanied by two guitarists, a percussionist, and a violinist – sang hymns whose repetition made it easy for the English speakers to catch on and join in the singing.   The Mass also served as the debut for the youth choir for the ministry, which was intended as a surprise for the pastor.

At the end of the Mass, Msgr. Tuzeneu invited the congregation to approach and venerate the icon with a touch or a kiss.  As the choir sang and clapped their hands to “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/ We are the Body of Christ,” adults and children and speakers of both languages crowded the center aisle waiting to show devotion to the image that so many Catholics love so well.

This particular icon travels as part of an initiative of the Knights of Columbus to bring the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and spread her message of peace and unity to Catholic parishes and councils of the Knights of Columbus within the Diocese of Trenton.  The Knights of Columbus of the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Paterson and Metuchen have also received copies of this icon.

Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on July 10, 2011 and authenticated by Msgr. Enrique Glennie Grave, the rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City,   these icons were touched to the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and sealed with soil – visible as a quarter of an inch circle on the lower right side of the icon – from the first church at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City, making them  third-degree relics.  

“The Spanish Outreach Ministry has been growing steadily since December, 2011,” said Charles J. Giles, who coordinates the ministry with Cheri Quinlan.

A Friday Rosary devotion in Spanish is well-attended and has become Stations of the Cross for the season of Lent. The bilingual Mass has kicked off a month of new beginnings as the ministry looks forward to its first wedding and first Baptism and looks to organizing an outreach to its youth. 

Spanish language Masses are now held on the first and third Sundays of the month.