Nuestra Señora de la Luz

Photos: Catedrales e Iglesias/Cathedrals and Churches, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

The Nuestra Señora de la Luz church is one of the oldest in the area. Today, it’s all but abandoned but for a dedicated few who keep the parish going. The church is built on the westernmost grounds of the old Hacienda de Aragón which was leased during the colonial period from the people of Tlatelolco. Some parish literature claims the parish history dates back in some form more than 300 years.

When the town of Guadalupe Hidalgo began to expand in the latter part of the 19th century, the farmland here was some of the first to be developed. Still, it’s a long way from the eastern neighborhoods today known as San Juan de Aragón. The original stone façade is still visible with its rose window overlooking the Calle Garrido. But 20th century alterations entirely expanded the church, eastward, so that today, it’s entered from the Calle 5 de febrero. One can still see and enter the much smaller original chapel.

The church shares its block with the Mercado Ferroplaza which is likely preferable to the railroads who long occupied the same buildings. Today the 5 de febrero entrance is right next to the entrance to the market and the parish will often hold its own benefit sales here.

Devotion to Our Lady of the Light began in Palermo in Sicily in the early 18th century. It’s long been a Jesuit order and so was historically persecuted by the Spanish crown, including in Colonial Mexico. Nevertheless, with the passage of time, an increasing number of Jesuit temples have been dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Luz including all over Mexico, and in South America, the Philippines and in Spain.