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Epiphany parishioners celebrated the Black Christ of Esquipulas Jan. 19. The devotion originated in Guatemala and draws devotees especially from Central America. (Photo courtesy David Chang)
Jan. 24, 2020
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
Marimba music filled the parish hall at Church of the Epiphany as the San Francisco parish gathered Jan. 19 to celebrate the feast of the Black Christ of Esquipulas, a centuries-old devotion from Guatemala. Epiphany parishioners carried a flower decked statue of El Señor de Esquipulas, accompanied by traditional dancers.
In the feast, “it’s Christ himself that we’re celebrating,” organizer Wendy Reyes said. “This is just another form of seeing Jesus, but in a specific place and culture that has a lot of richness. It’s important to know about the culture and devotion to Christ there.”
The feast of El Señor de Esquipulas, the Black Christ of Esquipulas, centers on a dark-colored statue of Christ that has been venerated for centuries in the eastern Guatemalan city of Esquipulas.
The statue dates back to 1594, when it was commissioned for a church in Esquipulas. The cause of the dark color of the statue has been debated: According to some, the sculptor used dark wood to represent the people of Esquipulas, while long-term exposure to smoke from candles has also been suggested.
Retired Auxiliary Bishop William Justice celebrated the 11:30 Mass in Spanish.
Reyes explained this is the fifth year the parish has celebrated the feast, which has seen increasing numbers of Guatemalans attending Mass there. It was first proposed by the Latino youth choir, who are majority Guatemalan. A committee later formed and received approval from Epiphany pastor Father Eugene Tungol to add the feast to the parish calendar. This year, about 200 people attended the party afterwards at the parish hall.
“We were very happy about it, to know more people are coming to celebrate with us,” Reyes said.
The parish’s Esquipulas committee fundraises throughout the year to make food and drinks free during the celebration, she added, so everyone can “have a good time and celebrate our traditions.”
Epiphany’s celebration used the marimba, a traditional Guatemalan percussion instrument, to accompany the choir during Mass. After Mass, a procession carried a statue of the Black Christ into the parish, accompanied by incense and traditional dancers. Dancers also performed the traditional Guatemalan “Moors dance,” which symbolizes the struggle between Moorish and Spanish kingdoms during the Reconquista, the 800-year reconquest of Spain by Christian kingdoms.
The Basilica of Esquipulas in Guatemala holds the statue today, drawing pilgrims from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, southern Mexico and in the United States. Pope St. John Paul II called Esquipulas “the Central American Capital of Faith” in 1996, when he commemorated the 400thanniversary of the Black Christ.
The statue continues to inspire fervor and many miracles are attributed to it, including the signing of peace accords in 1986 which settled conflicts that had plagued Central America for years.