Chicagoland

Cardinal Cupich celebrates Simbang Gabi Mass in Gurnee

By Chicago Catholic staff
Thursday, December 26, 2024

Cardinal Cupich was the main celebrant for a Simbang Gabi Mass at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Gurnee Dec. 22, 2024. The Archdiocese of Chicago celebrated its annual Simbang Gabi novena starting on Dec. 15 through Dec. 23, 2024 in each vicariate. Sponsored by the archdiocese’s Asian Catholic Initiative office, Simbang Gabi is one of the oldest and most revered Filipino Christmas traditions. (Denise Duriga/Chicago Catholic)

In the nine days leading up to Christmas, Filipino Catholics around the Archdiocese of Chicago gather at various parishes to celebrate the annual Simbang Gabi novena. Cardinal Cupich joined them Dec. 22 for a Mass and prayer at St Paul the Apostle Parish in Gurnee.

It was standing room only as over 1,500 packed the church for Mass. This was the second to last night for Vicariate I’s Simbang Gabi where a different church hosted the Mass each night.

Simbang Gabi refers to nine Masses in honor of Mary, traditionally celebrated in the nine days before Christmas by Filipino Catholics around the world. Since 1986, Filipino Catholics have organized the novena here. Every novena takes 12 months to plan with an average of 45,000 people attending over the nine days. Six percent of the archdiocese’s population is Asian, and many of those are Filipinos.

In Chicago, Filipino Catholics have organized evening novena Masses since 1986. This year, 55 churches in all parts of the archdiocese participated in Simbang Gabi. Unlike in the Philippines, where the novena Masses are held at dawn, the Masses in Chicago are held in the evening. Children usually carry parols, or Christmas lanterns, in opening processions during the service, and many people wear traditional Filipino clothing. One of the highlights of the novena follows Mass when participants partake of traditional Filipino food.

The tradition of Simbang Gabi Masses can be traced back to the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the Americas and the Philippines. At the time, they had a tradition of celebrating pre-Christmas novena Masses in honor of the Annunciation. Those Masses were known as “Misa de Gallo” or “rooster Mass,” because they were celebrated at dawn.

Pope Sixtus V gave Augustinians in the Americas permission to celebrate the Misa de Gallo on the nine days leading up to Christmas. Spanish evangelizers in the Philippines continued their tradition of celebrating nine days of Misa de Gallo and found it was a good way to spread the faith.

Catholic News Service contributed to this story.

Topics:

  • simbang gabi
  • christmas

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