In honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, about 75 people paraded up Harrison Street in Port Townsend toward St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church on Monday afternoon. The police-escorted procession marked the day on which Roman Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous man, in 1531.
Mary, known as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, is the patron saint of that country and “the Mother of us all,” according to a handout at the parish. St. Mary Star of the Sea, the only Catholic church in Jefferson County, celebrates Sunday masses in Spanish and in English.