It is 5 a.m. and the sun is not yet out. The colorful stained-glass windows at St. Theodore Catholic Church are not yet awake. But inside more than 100 people gather for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe service.

&uot;This service is particular to the church in Mexico,&uot; The Rev. Kurt Farrell, the Vicar of the Hispanic community in the Diocese of Winona, said after the service.

Farrell explained that the annual feast began after an image of Mary, mother of Jesus, appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico City in 1531. Mexico had, just 50 years before, been invaded by the Spanish, who pushed the Catholic faith onto the indigenous Indians.

Farrell said the appearance of Mary proved to the indigenous people that God cared enough about them to appear for them.

Diego was told in the vision to build a church. But, a local bishop didn’t believe him and wanted proof of the appearance. Again Mary appeared to Diego, and this time she left roses planted in the ground, which Diego brought to the Bishop. Because it was the middle of winter, the Bishop knew that the roses could not have been natural.

Those roses became a symbol of the vision of the appearance, Farrell said. The miracle of Diego’s vision helped to spread the Catholic church throughout Mexico.

Today, the celebration of this day world wide is huge.

&uot;Every Dec. 12, millions gather in Mexico City to celebrate this day as well as throughout Hispanic communities in the world,&uot; Farrell said.

Thursday, at the front of the St. Thedore sanctuary, a statue of the virgin Mary of Gaudalupe stood on top of blue and pink fabric, surrounded by candles &045; some of which were brought that morning by parishioners.

The service was completely in Spanish. It began with the Catholic Rosary and finished with songs and prayers.

At the end of the service, members of the congregation came up to bow, pray and kiss the statue, after which they left quietly.