St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School Celebrates Our Cultural Diversity

St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School, St. Louis, MO, and its Dragon LIFE group honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. The school also celebrated its Latino students, providing an opportunity for cultural learning and enrichment. 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 12, 2025

Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day this year allowed us to have a guest speaker at St. Mary’s to share about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Niko Lignore, a friend of St. Mary South Side’s Campus Minister, came to talk about his experiences with the feast day and the Latino culture. Nico is a Jesuit scholastic in his fifth year of formation, and he has had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Our Lady of Guadalupe through his religious order. 

Niko shared the time he spent at a local parish on the Vigil of the Feast Day. Hundreds of people gathered in the church basement to embrace Mary on this feast day. The Latino parish in North County is called Our Lady of Guadalupe. They celebrate this feast day with great enthusiasm. They participated in the celebration with song, dance, and prayer until the wee hours of the morning. 

Niko shared that the day's biggest highlight was between 12 am and 2 am, when everyone kept dancing and celebrating the Virgin Mary. Then, Niko took the time to explain the meaning behind Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day and her connection to St. Juan Diego. It is known that Mary appeared to Jaun Diego while he was on his way to mass, and she then asked him to approach the Bishop and request that a shrine be built to her honor. 

When Niko’s presentation ended, he posed the question, “What would you do if you had a vision in which you saw the Blessed Mother?” The students who attended the presentation did not know what to think, let alone what that would even look like for them. There were a few good questions from some of the students who came, as they wanted to better understand who Our Lady of Guadalupe was in Latino culture. This was a great learning opportunity for the students in our LIFE group, and we are glad we could make it happen before the holiday break.

From Ms. Mary Seise, Campus Minister &

Dr. William Mcilwee, Science Teacher, and Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters

Update sent by Curt Sidorski,

Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters,

Social Studies & Media Teacher,

St. Mary's South Side Catholic High School, St. Louis, MO