In honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was Tuesday, local Catholics gathered at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Webster City to observe the tradition. Some, like Yaretzi Martinez, of Webster City, wore traditional dress.

Many people in street clothes joined the feast at the church.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe first appeared on December 9th, 1531,” the website vivaguadalupe.org says. “According to the account, the Virgin Mary told Juan Diego, an Indian convert, to tell Bishop Juan de Zumarraga to build a chapel. Bishop Zumarraga asked Diego for a sign as proof that it was truly the Mother of God. Our Lady instructed Diego to gather some roses in his tilma (popular piety attests that Mary arranged the roses in the tilma herself) and present them to the bishop. As Diego did this, the roses fell to the floor, revealing the miraculous image of Mary as she appeared in real life.”