<p>Hispanic Catholics throughout Georgia are abuzz this week over the nearing arrival of an international torch relay honoring Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe.</p><p>Thousands are expected to line Georgia roads starting Thursday, when the relay reaches the state in what is expected to be one of its largest receptions in the United States.</p><p>About 5,000 runners are taking turns carrying the torch over a 3,800-mile route that started Oct. 10 in Mexico City. The relay will end Dec. 12 in New York City, when Mexicans commemorate the day in 1531 when, according to legend, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to Juan Diego and left her image on his cloak.</p><p>"It's a big and important celebration to the Hispanic community," said the Rev. Jose Duvan Gonzalez of San Felipe De Jesus Roman Catholic Mission in Forest Park.</p><p>The priest will be the first runner to meet the torch at the Georgia-Alabama border near Columbus on Thursday, passing it off to 75 other runners from the mission who will carry the flame to metro Atlanta.</p><p>"When we finish, we will be sharing some traditional food, have some mariachi, some dancing and celebrate our faith together," said Gonzalez, who estimates more than 2,000 people will gather for the relay festivities at his church southeast of Atlanta.</p><p>Gonzalez said there's only one bigger religious celebration of the year for the Mexican community _ that's Guadalupe Day itself Dec. 12.</p><p>The binational relay was started by New York City's Tepeyac Association in 2001 for Mexican immigrants who weren't able to celebrate the holy day by making a pilgrimage to Mexico City's Basilica, as many Mexicans do.</p><p>"It's very, very big because they have this for improving the faith _ two countries divided by distance but united by faith," said Olga Rodriguez, director of Hispanic ministry at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Gainesville, where the torch relay also will be making a stop.</p><p>The torch crossed the U.S. border at Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 5, and has stops in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.</p><p>At times, runners travel with little fanfare through quiet farm towns and areas with small Mexican communities, but they're expected to have a thunderous reception when they reach Georgia, which has the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic population.</p><p>Georgia organizers say they're hoping to draw at least 30,000 people along the relay route and to its scheduled stops in Forest Park, Smyrna and Gainesville. The torch will move on to Greenville, S.C., on Sunday.</p><p>Large processions, celebratory Masses and colorful parties are planned along the 280-mile route through Georgia, where the symbol of Guadalupe evokes deep emotions in some Catholics.</p><p>"There are some tears because they feel something special when it arrives here," Rodriguez said. She's expecting more than 1,000 people for a relay Mass in Gainesville, which was moved to an auditorium to accommodate an anticipated large crowd. About 20 percent of residents in surrounding Hall County are Hispanic.</p><p>The relay also has taken on a political significance, and organizers this year have rallied for the rights of undocumented workers and called on Mexican lawmakers to grant migrants in the United States the right to cast absentee ballots in their home country's 2006 presidential elections.</p><p>"With this torch run, we call for respect of those human rights and to bring about the process of change to communities in the U.S. where Mexicans live," said Daniel Chavez, the relay's coordinator.</p><p>As the event grows, organizers also hope to reach mainstream Americans, who may see the flame pass through their towns.</p><p>"What we basically try to do is reach out to the Mexican community but reach out to the American community as well and show them what we're doing and ... change perspectives or stereotypes that exist between these two communities," he said.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2864f3c)</p><p>HASH(0x2863128)</p>
