Little Village procession brings spirits cast down by federal deportation blitz ‘a little closer to God’

Hundreds of Catholics took part in a procession down 26th Street in Little Village on Tuesday, marking the beginning of Our Lady of Guadalupe festivities.

The mini-pilgrimage — which mirrors larger-scale celebrations happening in Des Plaines and Mexico City — ended with a Mass at Good Shepherd Church at 2735 S. Kolin Ave.

The event offered a moment of celebration in one of the communities deeply impacted by the federal Operation Midway Blitz, which wound down in November after resulting in roughly 1,800 immigration-related arrests.

“It’s been very difficult the last few months on a lot of our families,” said Scott Ernst, 44, principal at Epiphany Catholic School, where the procession began. “Our families continually come together [and] support each other. You can see the joy in the parents’ faces.”

Tuesday marked the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego, which is when believers hold that the Virgin Mary first appeared to the saint in 1531 on Tepeyac Hill in modern-day Mexico City. The celebration, one of the most popular religious devotions in Mexican and American life, culminates Friday with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Brenda Osorio has been a part of the Epiphany community since she was young, first as a student, then as a basketball coach and now as a parent.

After recent increased immigration operations in Little Village, she began driving students to and from school to help families living in fear of raids.

She said the celebration was a chance to calm some of those fears.

“It is kind of scary for some of the kids,” said Osorio, 34. The celebration “makes them feel a little happier — a little closer to God. It gives them a right to celebrate instead of just being scared and inside.”

Irene Martinez De Rubio came to the United States from Michoacán, Mexico, in 1971.

“Despite all that’s happening, we’re present and we’re here with the protection of our mother,” said Martinez De Rubio, 74.

She says she understands why families remain wary of coming to celebrate and urges them to prioritize their safety.

“It is dangerous, and it is sad that families get separated,” Martinez De Rubio said. “Keep praying and have faith. Never lose faith.”

Tuesday’s Mass placed an emphasis on unity through faith, and churchgoers prayed for the “welcoming of migrants and their constitutional rights.”

“I just think this is a really powerful show of faith and show of community, to have our students and our school community walking across Little Village and showing that we are all one,” Ernst said. “We’re one, just like Our Lady [of Guadalupe] taught us.”