The townspeople of Jocotepec and pilgrims from near and far will congregate over the next two weeks to reaffirm their Christian faith and manifest devotion to the local spiritual patron El Señor del Monte (The Lord of the Mount).
The celebration changes dates from year to year so that the final day invariably falls on the third Sunday in January. This year it begins on the evening of Monday, January 4 when ecclesiastical and civil authorities, joined by sponsoring trade guilds, gather at the parish church for the solemn Juramento, a collective renovation of vows of faith dedicated to the Señor del Monte.
Allegiance to the figure representing the Crucified Christ stems from a belief in answered prayers to alleviate lethal outbreaks of cholera that hit the town in 1833 and 1850, and the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918.
Religious activities held daily during festivities begin at dawn with rosary devotions, picking up again at 6 p.m. with a procession preceding evening Mass. The celebration culminates Sunday, January 17 with a massive pilgrimage.
On that date the image of El Señor del Monte will be carried out of the church at 4 p.m., to be paraded through town accompanied by a throng of devoted followers. As manifestations of faith, some will make the long trek on their knees, others will walk along barefooted and blindfolded, and many will carry elaborately decorated candles.
The secular side of the fiestas includes a bustling street fair in the town center, bull-riding contests, cock fights, cultural events, mechanical rides, high-decibel musical spectacles at the plaza, and gigantic nighttime fireworks displays set ablaze in the church atrium.
The 2016 festivities are of special significance, coinciding with the temple’s 250th anniversary and its standing as one of ten pilgrimage sites designated by the Archdiocese of Guadalajara for the Extraordinary Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis.
The pontiff marked the start of the jubilee year on December 8 with the ceremonious opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, symbolizing a new pathway to salvation. Similarly, the Holy Door at the Jocotepec parish was opened December 13.