Archive.TheCatholicSpirit.com

At the end of the Aug. 15 Mass in honor of La Virgen del Cisne at Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Minneapolis, Juan Muñoz changes the “Manto,” the robe of the statue of La Virgen del Cisne, before a three-block procession around the neighborhood of the church.

The celebration continued at the parish with musical groups, dancing and Ecuadorian food, as part of a traditional Ecuadorian celebration that began Aug. 14 with games and family activities in a park near the church.

Devotion to La Virgen del Cisne began more than four centuries ago when indigenous people in the Ecuadorian town of El Cisne acquired a statue of the Virgin Mary. Photo by Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit

School Sister of Notre Dame Paulanne Gruber looked at old photos and reminisced about her four years as a teacher at Holy Childhood School in St. Paul during a celebration of the school’s history Aug. 8. The school closed at the end of this past school year. Photo by Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit