The Diocese of Brooklyn will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Saturday, Dec. 12, starting at noon at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, Prospect Heights.

Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, and concelebrated by Auxiliary Bishops James Massa and Octavio Cisneros, who will preach the homily in Spanish.

Following Mass, at 1 p.m., the bishops will bless and light up the torches of the faithful who will then make their ways to the different participating parishes throughout Brooklyn and Queens. The pilgrims will carry the torches back to their parishes as they sign, pray and spread messages of hope and love.

“The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico and the Americas, commemorates the apparition of the blessed Virgin Mary as an indigenous woman to a poor peasant in Mexico City,” explained Bishop DiMarzio. “Her apparition came at a time when Mexican natives were being persecuted by the conquistadors. Unfortunately, we still witness persecution in our times, with many still facing racial division. By celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe we bring the light of Christ into our communities and share the faith that unites us all.”

This year’s diocesan pilgrimage “Light of Christ” represents the third time that Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens will gather together to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. With 36 participating parishes, the Mass is expected to attract nearly 2,000 participants.

The pilgrims represent, in its vast majority, the Mexican Catholic population of Brooklyn and Queens. According to the 2015 National Census, there are nearly 200,000 Mexicans living in Brooklyn and Queens.

New Evangelization Television (NET-TV) will provide live coverage of the Mass, which will also be live streamed on www.netny.tv/watch-now. NET-TV is a cable network featuring news and information with a Catholic point of view, and is available in the New York area on Time Warner Cable, Ch. 97; Cablevision, Ch. 30; and nationally on Verizon FiOS On Demand.