There is a special Article with Video about the Matachines further down.
The 47th Annual Arizona Rosary Celebration was held in the Diocese of Tucson at Saint Augustine Cathedral on Saturday, October 15, 2022. This celebration was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus of Arizona.
The theme of this year’s celebration was in honor of Our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady, Help of Persecuted Christians. As Bishop Edward Weisenburger, Bishop of Tucson stated, “ In honoring the Blessed Mother under this title we are reminded of the sorrow and sufferings of our Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world today. He went on to state, “together, let us gather in prayer to seek Mary’s maternal intercession as the helper of persecuted Christians. Let us implore her to guide us as we navigate with faith, hope and love through this ‘valley of tears.’ Gathered in prayer we will find that trusting in her loving care our hearts will become serene and our suffering change into hope.”
Your Knights of Columbus, Sir Michael Fitzgerald Council #5221 was represented at the Rosary Celebration by eight Brother Knights and several of their family members to include two of our youngest supporters. We marched in a large procession with other faithful members of parishes and Knights councils. We were treated to beautiful music, and a moving tribute to our Lady by the Matachines from Santa Catalina Parish. Father Jim Phalan was the keynote speaker and gave a moving talk on the rosary and how it impacts us today. We then prayed the rosary together as church. The consensus from our group was that this was a very spiritual experience and all were glad they attended.
We hope to have more of our Brothers and family members attend with us next year.
Vivat Jesus!
GK Deacon Ernie
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(Video Below)
Attendees at the Diocese of Tucson Rosary Celebration were treated to a tribute to Mother Mary as Our Lady, Help of Persecuted Christians, by the Matachines from Santa Catalina Parish . Here is a short description of the Matachines and what their outfits represent, and a short video of their tribute.
WHAT ARE MATACHINES? (Ma-TA-ChEE-NESS)
The Matachines are the soldiers of the Virgin Mary and of the Lord; their way of praying is by dancing to Christ and the Blessed Mother. They use to dance to the sun, moon, stars because these were their gods. When Christopher Columbus introduced Catholicism to the Indigenous, they continued dancing because it was the only way they knew how to pray.
It has become customary for Matachines to dance on the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe which is celebrated on December 12th. Although there are many types of dances and dancers, the dance that was performed at the Rosary Celebration was in honor of Our Lady, Help of Persecuted Christians and the praying of the Holy Rosary.
WHAT DO THE OUTFITS REPRESENT?
The headpiece resembles the bishop’s cap in honor of the bishop that first saw the image of Our Blessed Mother on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. The cape represents the tilma of St. Juan Diego where Our Lady of Guadalupe placed her image and roses. The bells, maracas, drums represent the music of the Indigenous and their way of praising and showing joy for the Lord.