Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church will be a little different than usual tonight – the service will be conducted in Spanish and English.

St. Thomas, 129 Ash Ave., will celebrate The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Feast of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, at 7:30 p.m.

“The celebration is commemorating the appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Juan Diego in 1531 in Mexico,” said John Donaghy, campus minister at St. Thomas. “An imprint of the image of Mary was on Juan Diego’s cloak.”

Mary became known as a patron to Mexico after the image appeared, said Leticia Romo, junior in management. “The celebration has a huge cultural role,” she said. “At home, there are huge celebrations.”

Romo’s hometown, Brawley, Calif., is just 15 minutes from the Mexican border, where 74 percent of the population is Latino. “It was a big change coming here, because at home there are a lot of games, dancing and food,” she said.

Though the celebration won’t be nearly as elaborate as the celebrations in her hometown, Romo said she is planning to attend with some of her friends.

“It is a time where the church community will get together and celebrate with families and friends,” she said.

This year will be the first time St. Thomas has held the celebration of the feast.

“The parish saw that there has been an increase in the number of Hispanics living in the community and wanted to find a way to include them in the services,” said Jos‚ Luis Compar n, intern seminarian at St. Thomas.

St. Thomas plans to have two masses in Spanish each semester in an effort to reach out to Hispanic students, he said.

Grade school children from a religious education class will also attend the special mass with their families, Donaghy said.

Compar n said he is going to try to preach bilingually so non-Spanish speaking people can also learn about the feast during the services.

After the services, there will be a social gathering in the Lower Lounge of St. Thomas, Compar n said.